Final Fantasy XV-2 Dawn
by Yurosoku
Summary: A new heir has arisen, and a new journey is about to be unfold. As the child of Noctis and Lunafreya, Aurora must discover the power of Crystal, fend off the Seven Deities, rebuild her Kingdom and claim her Throne.
1. Chapter 1

Final Fantasy XV-2

Dawn

Prologue

Dawn's First Light

It may have been, the most beautiful thing the glaives had ever witnessed in their lives, but also upon seeing the light did they all realize the cost of such beauty.

Prompto had held back his tears when his friend, his king, his brother, had told them to walk tall. The final farewell after a ten year wait, and only when the light was restored to this world, did he allow the tears to fall unashamedly.

With a hiccup, he placed an arm upon his tears, his sobbing grew as the day grew brighter. He felt a hand placed upon his back and upon looking, he looked to see Gladio's own eyes glistening with sorrow. The sworn shield of the king, the strongest man he ever knew, had never looked so sad. He gave Prompto a sad but understanding smile as the blond gave up sense of appearance and just collapsed into his friend's arms.

Sobbing loudly as Gladio held him close tears of his own falling down his cheeks. He turned to see Ignis staring in the direction of the Citadel, hands clenched as his own shoulders shook with his head down cast.

As the light stretched over the Citadel, the trio of men did nothing but mourn for their king. After a ten year of waiting, surviving in the darkness of their world, and only for a few hours did they have Noct back. And now, for the world to be saved from the eternal darkness, he had to fulfil the destiny given to him by the Astrals. A sacrifice to bring back the light…and never before did they wish they could go back and change things.

'H-H-He's gone', whimpered Prompto, still sobbing.

'I know bud…I know', sighed Gladio, tears still trailing down his cheeks.

*Bark* *Bark*

The trio turned to see a familiar dog sitting before them. 'I-Is that…?', Prompto gasped.

'Umbra?', Ignis asked, the familiar barking helped identify the dog.

The dog barked once more before he suddenly ran straight for the Citadel. Not ones to wait on answers the trio, with great hesitation, ran to chase the dog.

Reaching the throne room, they could only stare in grief at the empty throne, with the sword their former king Regis carried stabbed into the throne. The one time Noct sat upon his throne, it was his late time. Ignis choked back a sob as Prompto sniffled in sadness but Gladio approached where Umbra sat, just below the throne where memories of the day they departed from their home filled their minds.

A road trip, to see their brother married off to Lunafreya, what was supposed to be a great trip full of fun and memories, turned into a journey to help the young prince fulfil his role as the Chosen King of light. A trip none of them regretted, no matter the grief, pain or sadness it marked them with.

Umbra looked up at Gladio before the giant gave the throne one more look, just as his brother's joined his side. Prompto placed one hand on his chest and gave the empty throne a curt bow, one last form of respect for his late friend. Joining suit, Gladio and Ignis repeated his gesture, heavy hearted and eyes growing even wetter with grief.

'The death of the Chosen King weighs upon us all'.

They all turned to see Gentiana, eyes still closed as always and hands clasped together in that peaceful manner. They all stood still as she addressed them. 'Glaives of the Chosen King, thy work for him is not yet completed', she spoke in that otherworldly tone.

At this, Prompto was the first to voice their thoughts. 'W-What do you mean? Noct's…gone', he said. Just saying that sentence twisted his heart. Gentiana stepped forward until she stood in the centre. 'The King and Oracle, have but one last request from you all, should you choose to accept it', she explained. 'But if thou believe the request is too much, then you may decline'.

'After all the hell we went through? Nothing Noct could throw at us would even slow us down', Gladio said sternly.

Slowly Gentiana smiled as a light glowed from her, blinding them all briefly until the entire throne room was basked in beautiful light. 'A blessing upon this world, and one last gift from your brother, and a final mercy from the Astrals', she said as her voice vanished into nothing.

The light ceased as Prompto and Gladio looked to see nothing before them, Gentiana or Umbra were to be seen. 'What just happened?', the blond asked. Before Gladio could answer his question with the same amount of confusion he carried, he turned to Ignis…carrying a white bundle. Slowly Prompto and Gladio joined his side as the former advisor took off his glasses…and showed his unscarred face. 'I-Iggy', Prompto gasped.

The advisor choked back a sob once he turned to see his friends again, tears dancing down his own elegant cheeks. But before he could display the joy in the form of words, he suddenly felt something shift in his arms. All three pairs of eyes looked down to see, in the arms of Ignis, was a baby. A small being that shifted in its sleep before they finally opened their eyes. Showing the most beautiful set of blue eyes the party had seen.

'They…look like Noct's', Gladio stated dumbly. The baby looked up at the three with wide curiosity, making small noises as their hands slowly reached up. Prompto gave the little one a small wave before he allowed her to grip his finger. 'Is this…Noct and Luna's…child?', Ignis asked, more so himself. 'Gentiana DID say it was from the king and oracle', Gladio mused. 'Maybe this is the Astrals way of giving the world a Lucis and oracle?'.

Ignis mused at this, a good explanation and one that would make sense. Yet something else took priority.

'Let's go home'.

*Hammerhead*

The trip back was more silent than the trip to Insomnia, even as the world was basked in light, the daemon population had greatly receded since the light was brought back. Ignis kept looking at Prompto, who was carrying the baby closely to his chest. Ignis had discovered the babe was a girl, and the very moment he handed her to Prompto, the blond was constantly vigilant with her and carrying her so carefully as if she was made of glass.

Gladio himself was being so quiet it almost spooked Ignis when he saw the large man beside him. The silence however wasn't unwelcomed, many of them trying to come to terms with the events that took place within the few hours since they saw the light return. Ignis' vision being restored, a baby from the king and oracle, and Noct's passing, three major bombshells that shook them all.

'What do we do with her?', Prompto asked, as the baby was gently tugging his goatee.

Ignis turned to see the blond, worried. 'We look after her of course', Ignis spoke, as if that was obvious. 'Oh no that goes without saying…but I meant about royalty and protocol stuff?', clarified Prompto. Ignis looked at the baby, still tugging the hideous goatee, with worry. With Insomnia in ruins, there would be no place for royalty to grow, plus it would take years, decades even, to establish a government.

And without the crystal, would she even have the same powers her father had? Or Astrals forbid, would she be the next oracle? Seeing her in this form, an innocent child unaware of the legacy her ancestors had laid before her…

'Why not raise her like a normal kid?'.

They both turned to see Gladio staring ahead. 'Without a crystal or anything really, there's no need for a princess or even a queen. Maybe, we could give her that life Regis wanted for Noct', he explained. Prompto and Ignis looked at each other, not necessarily disagreeing with the idea but…

Eos will need a leader, and with Niflheim, Tenebrae and Altissia's governments in shambles, and there was potential for rebuilding their home in peace. Still, looking back at the child and on Gladio's words, would it be selfish of them to want this child to have a normal life? 'Could we?', Prompto asked, finally pulling his chin away from the grabby hands. 'Maybe, just for a few years?'. Ignis gave a hum of thought before they arrived at their destination.

Hammerhead was relatively empty, depraved of hunters it appeared. No doubt many of them took the opportunity to hunt down a few daemons during the daylight, not that the three glaives complained. They were more looking forward to familiar faces.

'Guys!'. Speaking of which.

Prompto grinned widely at the sight of the apple of his eye, Cindy. She waved happily at the trio as she approached them with the widest grin they'd ever seen. Wearing a heavy brown coat that covered her up entirely with blue jeans and black boots. She still wore her cap and goggles for the past ten years, her blond hair cut shorter till the hair was above her ears.

'Cindy', Prompto said dreamily, ignoring the eye rolls of the other two.

'Glad y'all made it…', she started but her smile faded when she only counted three among the party. But then her eyes targeted the babe in Prompto's arms. 'Err Prom? Why do ya have a baby?', she asked. 'And…Ignis, your eyes', she gasped.

'…Long story', the ex-advisor said sadly.

At the looks on the faces, Cindy put two and two together and answered the question burning in her mind. She weakly smiled as she gestured the old restaurant. 'Well, the others are waiting inside for y'all, think they wanna know what happened', she explained.

'But, you guys can take it easy if ya want'.

'Appreciate the offer, but, I fear they'll want answers as soon as possible', Ignis responded with a sigh. 'We best get this over with'.

Oh how he dreaded this moment.

Entering the former restaurant turned HQ, the trio could see a few familiar faces around the place. Talcott was at the stool cleaning his hunter's knife but judging from how he refused to look at the party, it was more to distract himself from seeing the number of the royal party had become short one man. Cid, of all people, was at a table, giving his former costumers a sombre look.

Any of the former glaives or crownsguard members however were not present, Monica and Dustin had sadly passed away during the ten-year darkness. Monica dying from an attack by the daemons during an escort of supply trucks, being one of the drivers. Dustin met a much more peaceful end, his age combined with the grief of Monica's death, it was enough to see him make his way to the former king Regis.

Yet there was only one person at this very moment Ignis was rather apprehensive and worried to finally see. And just as he steeled himself, the door behind the restaurant, which was more of a safe bed room, opened.

First to come out was Iris, wearing a leather shirt like Gladio used to wear except with a dark red t-shirt within it, a pair of grey pants with noticeable tears around her knees and thighs, dirty brown boots with several patches of the colours smudged off. Her brown hair was longer and unkempt.

She smiled at Gladio but upon seeing there was only three of them, her eyes watered slightly. The brother quickly approached her and gave her the much needed hug she needed, as she silently sobbed into his chest. 'He's gone…', she whimpered. 'Yeah…', Gladio affirmed.

Ignis turned to the door though, seeing it just opened an inch, a small child peeking from it. Soft silvery hair with curious green eyes, similar to his own. Ignis approached the door, just three steps away from it before he knelt down. The child refused to budge though, watching the older man. Ignis gave him a small smile.

'Fulgur, come out', he asked.

Slowly, the child pried himself from the door and stood before Ignis, hands clasped together shyly. Wearing a moogle printed t-shirt (Iris' choice of clothing) a pair of dirty blue shorts and brown shoes, Fulgur looked up to Ignis. Then, he suddenly ran into him, embracing the man in a tight hug. Ignis returning it just as strong.

'Dada…', the child squeaked, burying himself into his father's neck.

Ignis chuckled with tears down his eyes. He kept mentally thanking Noct, the gift to finally see his son with his own eyes. To see what he looked like, what he'll grow to be, what his personality will be like. Never in his life did Ignis ever feel so blessed just to see.

*Later*

With the baby in Iris' arms, who had taken a great liking to the babe, and Fulgur put to bed after a story from his father, the four friends of the passed king begun to speak of what is to come. After several debates, discussions on the subject matter of the hierarchy and future of their kingdom, Ignis was the first to break the ice.

'With the child as the only remaining royalty in this world, we must restore Insomnia', he explained. 'Not just for the line of Lucis, but for her people too'.

'I'm all up for rebuilding the Crown City as much as everyone else, but what about Niflheim?', asked Gladio. 'Think they'll try again with taking the city?'.

'I have my worries on the matter but without an emperor or any military strength, I dare say they may focus on rebuilding first before they try to reclaim their lands'.

Prompto hummed in agreement with that, after seeing what became of the capital ten years ago, he could only imagine the state the city would be in now. Not to mention many of the inhabitants that didn't become daemons thanks to the experimentations.

'And the people? How do we explain to them that their new ruler is a baby?', Gladio asked.

'That…is a bridge we'll cross once we come to it', Ignis replied, pushing his glasses up a bit. 'But for now I believe the best course of action, is to keep her a secret until she reaches the right age'.

'So we're gonna raise her in secret?', Prompto asked.

'We're not going to seclude her from the world, but in regards to the line of Lucis, we'll keep that under wraps for now'.

The two glaives nodded before they all turned to the baby, now staring up and giggling at the silly faces Iris was making at her. Tiny hands reached up to grip her teasing finger, bright eyes staring up at the huntress.

Iris looked at the glaives with a smile.

*Next Day*

Placing the last of his stuff in the back of the truck with Iris', Ignis turned to see his son standing there, his moogle plushie in his small arms. Ignis knelt down and ruffled his silvery locks, earning a small giggle from his reserved child.

'Are we going to Les...Les...', he tried.

'Lestallum, and yes. We're going home, my boy', answered his father.

His son still had difficulty with bigger words, something the former advisor will endeavour to rectify once they settled in a new lifestyle. The plushie was a gift from Prompto when he was born, something to help him sleep at night when Ignis wasn't around. Since then the boy had refused to let it go whenever he was about to go driving or to sleep.

'Is Iris coming too?', he asked.

'Yes, along with Aurora', said Ignis.

'Aurora?'.

'The baby'.

With that, Ignis placed the boy in the truck in the middle, much to the boy's dismay as he loved the window seat. But he was the smallest among the traveling group and Iris was carrying the baby too. Ignis turned to see Gladio and Prompto escorting the baby and Iris.

'So we all alright with this?', the shield inquired.

'That Iris is gonna be Mama Iris?', joked Prompto.

One quick whack to his head quickly doused any further jokes the blond had stacked up.

Iris rolled her amber eyes as she looked at her new daughter, sleeping blissfully unaware. 'Don't forget to visit your niece boys', she chastised playfully, 'She'll be expecting you'.

'She'll be expecting Iggy the most though', Gladio mused. If that child was going to anything like Noct, she would certainly need an Ignis.

Iris giggled before she headed for the truck, giving the trio a moment.

Alone, the three shared a sombre look, eyes downcast with sadness yet hinted with happiness. 'I guess this is it', Prompto mused, 'No more camping or miss-adventures'. 'Yeah…but hey, we're gonna have to meet up every now and then', Gladio affirmed.

'If we can pry ourselves away from our duties', Ignis said with a smirk, 'Especially in your case, Gladio'.

The large man followed the gaze of his friend to his own car, inside was a woman who looked heavily pregnant, amusing a little girl who sat in the back seat of the car. The woman had amber coloured hair that was cut short with soft brown eyes, wearing a black shirt looking very similar to Gladio's crownsguard shirt for a coat, her belly protruding outwards, a pair of blue jeans that looked faded.

The little girl had her father's hair colour and light amber coloured eyes, wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of red shorts. She was grinning madly at her mother's stories, no doubt about her dad's days of being the shield to his majesty. Gladio chuckled to himself, running a hand through his hair as he smiled at the two.

'So where you headed?', asked Prompto.

'There's a town by Galdin Quay, we've got a place there', he explained, 'Just need to help rebuild a few parts to keep any daemons away'.

'Beachside home, sounds lovely', Ignis complimented.

'Yeah, plenty of ways to keep a kid entertained', Gladio said.

They both turned to the blond, who sheepishly scratched his cheeks, not looking at Cindy. The latter was smiling away while leaning against a car as Gladio and Ignis the younger man a smirk each. 'So…I think I'll stick around Hammerhead for a while', Prompto said shyly. The man was still pinning for the goddess of machine it seems. Least he is consistent.

'Best of luck', Ignis wished, patting him on the shoulder while Gladio patted his back.

With their farewells said and done, the two older men drove off to their futures as Prompto watched them both disappear over the horizon as the sun shined down on them all.

A new journey was at hand…


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2! Sorry for the delay, but I've gotten a beta-reader at last! Massive thanks to Manga124 for this!

Final Fantasy XV-2

Chapter One

A new Generation and a new Problem

*Five Years Later*

The alarm buzzed loudly with the obnoxious choir of chocobo calls, the small device shook on the dresser beside Iris' bed which added to the noise. Grunting and groaning tiredly, the huntress lazily and blindly searched for the button to kill the noise. After knocking something over, the alarm finally died and silence reign supreme in her bed room.

Iris then let out a sigh of relief and nuzzled back into the pillow, nearly dozing off again.

Until her other alarm clock kicked in.

'Mama! Mama! Mama!'.

Iris had to restrain that exaggerated groan that attempted to make itself know as a tired grin begun to surface on her face, the sounds of soft pitter patter feet and then this annoying pestering prod in her side. 'Mama…wake up!', ordered a little voice. Iris held back a giggle, hoping to seem asleep to her alarm.

Then she let a grunt as a sudden weight appeared on her, pokes increasing by two with two digits poking her sides insistently. Iris eventually cracked on eye open to see Aurora, perched upon her mother's stomach, looking at her with a pout. 'Morning sweetie', she yawned, rubbing her eyes with her arm. 'Mama, you said you were gonna be up early', pouted the child, lower lip out. Iris sighed kindly as she ruffled her daughter's hair.

'Well I'm awake now, that's half the battle', promised the mother. Aurora let out an impatient whine as Irish sat up. 'But Uncle Gladdy is gonna be here soon!'. Nodding the woman climbed out of bed and stretched as Aurora watched her. 'Then I better get dressed then…and so should you', she said, pointing at her daughter's choice of clothing. Aurora was currently wearing her pjs, a pink cotton top with moogles all over it, a pair of night shorts with the same moogle pattern. Her light blond hair all tussled and bed like, making the mother assume she merely woke up recently.

Her eyes though, shined with childish energy and youth with a touch of sleepiness to add. Iris guessed she forced herself to get up early for today exclusively, not that the former huntress could blame her. 'Well come on, let's go make some breakfast', Iris said, throwing on a pair of jeans. The girl beamed and followed her out with a spring in her step.

After making the girl her breakfast and pouring herself some OJ, Irish picked up the paper to check up on the recent developments of Insomnia. So far the reconstruction of the city had been slow with daemons still prowling the area, many of the wild beasts had occupied the city too and there were still active magiteck soldiers that miraculously had survived. Yet there was good news for the original inhabitants, slowly the city was returning to its glory days.

Thankfully most of the homes and major buildings remained in relatively decent condition, a few construction workers had even finished up on several old buildings for housing and with the power being restored underground, it was only a matter of time for the city be reborn.

However, the one place that everyone seemed to stay away from, was the Citadel.

After a few days in the sun, many of the hunters with Ignis and company had built a tomb for Noct, the palace acting as his final resting place. The funeral was kept from the masses, and only friends, allies and loved ones were able to attend to the passing of their king. Iris herself hadn't set foot in the Citadel since the funeral, and a part of her hoped to continue that streak as long as she could.

Just as her musings grew into memories, the doorbell rang.

Quick as a chocobo, Aurora bounced off her chair and answered. No sooner did she turn around the corner; her squeals rang through the house as she was carried over the shoulder of her uncle. 'I believe this little pip squeak belongs to you?', Gladio asked, gesturing his passenger. Iris giggled warmly as Gladio shifted the girl until she was resting on both shoulders, hands in his hair. 'Morning Gladio', Iris said kindly. The ex-huntress got off her seat, but no sooner did Gladio step aside, two girls rushed in and tackled Iris into a hug.

'Auntie!', the two cried.

Iris laughed warmly at the two, embracing them both lovingly, peering down at her nieces. Clavam, the oldest, was taller with short dark brown hair with a single bow upon her head, dark amber eyes like her father, wearing a plain grey t-shirt and long skirt. Her sister, Ferox, is two years younger than her, soft brown hair with lighter brown eyes like her mother, wearing a tank top with a cactuar on her stomach, long red skirt.

They bore more of their mother's features than their father's in physical appearance sure, but Iris couldn't count the amount of times she saw her brother in their personalities, or their attire when they were at home. She looked up at her brother who despite busying himself with Aurora, was still in his prime. Granted among the trio he was still the most active when it came to maintaining his incredible strength, he's a hunter now after all.

He wore his favourite black tank top today with white pants, she was saddened to see his tattoos had seemingly begun to fade out over time. He says he stopped worrying about them since his kids say he's super scary with them. His wife, Yuria, had encouraged him to at least keep them fresh looking. 'So you two ready for the beach?', he asked, chuckling as Aurora bent over to stare into his eyes. Yeah, we're just finishing up our meal', Iris promised.

'Beach!', the trio of children cried cheer.

The smells of the ocean brought smiles to the party of five, the beautiful blue skies and golden orb of light shining down upon them all, signalling it to be a glorious day. Iris was genuinely amazed by how much the seaside had changed in the span of five years, no longer was it just a restaurant that occupied the beach, but a small village. Gladio had told her it took time to manage the housings, building them, fighting off the wild life and other monsters. He was in charge of the extermination squad, putting his skills as a shield and a leader to great use.

In time the village grew into a small community that created a trading system with the other cities and became a local tourist attraction thanks to the restaurant being re-opened. Coctura, the original chef, is now the owner of the place since the previous owner had perished during the eternal dark. Between the restaurant and the local festivals that took place here, it was easily the most attractive spot for tourism.

They drove into the car park, that spot hadn't changed at all, and unloaded the equipment for the beach activities. Iris had to watch the princess while unloading because as soon as she hopped out of Gladio's jeep, she hopped to the railings to see the large ocean before her. Her blue eyes glowed with awe as Clavam and Ferox joined her. Iris figured living in the city for so many years, nature just finds a way to surprise her daughter.

'Reminds me of Noct when he goes fishing', Gladio said, closing the trunk of the jeep. Iris turned to him, seeing a sombre look in his eyes, hands placed on the edge of the jeep. Iris gently placed a hand on his shoulder, a comfort looking formed on her face for her brother.

'I miss him too, Gladdy', she said.

He sighed in response, placing a hand on her resting one.

'Hey~y!'.

Both turned to see jogging down to them from the beach, was Prompto, waving like a loon as he always did. Gladio smiled as Iris beamed at the blond haired man, just reaching the steps to the car park, but he only made it to the bottom of the steps.

'UNCLE PROMPTO!'.

And thus, he was tackled to the sandy ground by a trio of kids, easily knocking the wind out of him. On his back, the former glaive just laughed and ruffled the kids' hairs playfully. 'My little chocobos! Great to see ya!', he said.

Since the light was brought back, Prompto had mostly retired from the glaives, with the occasional hunt or when Gladio and Ignis were asking for his aid, and actually developed a photography organization at Hammerhead. It was a well-known group that took the most amazing photos, mostly from places himself and the old group ventured to in the past.

As for himself, Prompto had gotten rid of his goatee after Ignis and Gladio both admitted he looked like a half assed biker…and their opinions were only strengthened when he bought himself a bike.

He got rid of it, but he also worked out more. No longer being the scrawny pip-squeak of the previous band, his hair remained the same though with a touch more care to it. He wore a bright red t-shirt and a multi coloured shorts. As for his barcode, he still kept a band around it, old habit but it was more so to prevent a panic or anything like that.

'So whose up for swimming?', he asked. The girls cheered happily at his question.

'AFTER you all change into your swimming gear', Iris said with a playful stern tone.

The girls whined in response, their impatience shining brilliant at that moment as Prompto chuckled. After the last time they hopped into the waters in their clothes, Iris was adamant with them swimming in the gears for such activities, especially after the hours she had spent helping cleaning the car afterwards. The amount of sand, seaweed and smells of salty waters in that car wouldn't leave for a week.

And Gladdy did not forget to remind her of that on a regular basis.

At the spot where everyone else was waiting, Iris's lips tugged at the sight of old friends, even family, together again. By the makeshift kitchen was Ignis and Coctura, the latter working on the grill while the spectacled man added the finishing touches to the sandwiches for the kids. Hiding under an umbrella was Fulgur, nose deep in a book of his, by his side was Vitae, who was watching him, bored. Lastly building sand castles was Callidus or Calli, as the kids call him.

Since going back to Lestallum and having his sight returned, Ignis had devoted his time raising Fulgur while lending a hand with Aurora for Iris. So far he mentored and educated his son on the basic educations first before he taught him the history the Lucis line, but he also encouraged him to make friends and have a normal childhood before duty would rear its head to the boy. In regards to the future of the kingdom…that's a story for later.

Ignis had shown he let his hair down since his sight returned, wearing a simple grey t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, his hair was almost the same aside from the pony tail that reached below his shoulders, apparently Prompto encouraged him to look like this. Granted even though he was a single father, he still kept his skills sharp when it came to rebuilding Insomnia.

Coctura had become part of the inner circle following the defeat of the darkness, often babysitting their children when the occasion rose, and after Aurora and company became friends with her son, Calli. The woman had barely shown any aging compared to the others, save for a scar across her right shoulder that almost rendered it useless by a daemon years ago. Her hair tied into a bun, wearing a simple sundress.

As for their children, Fulgur had definitely shown his potential after finishing junior school at the age of seven, now a year away from enrolling in high school. His silvery like hair had grown into a tussled mess, but that was only because Ignis forgot to take him to a barber.

Vitae, is actually the son of Prompto and Cindy. After going their separate ways, a month later Prompto had discovered Cindy was actually carrying his child. To say he was over the moon with joy would be a massive understatement. They were married at least a month before he was born, Cindy insisted she wanted their child to be raised in a safe world first and foremost. Therefore, Prompto had out-done himself in the cleansing of daemons, heck he even put Gladio to shame.

The boy was almost identical to his father, bright blond hair all shaggy and messy looking a ruffled chocobo, green tinted blue eyes bright as his fathers. Wearing a vest with ocean patterns and a pair of red shorts.

Regarding to Cindy, she remained behind at Hammerhead because of the amount of repairs needing for several transport trucks and other travellers that were helping the rebuilding of the Crown City.

Calli is Coctura's son, having been born around the same year as Vitae. The father was never mentioned nor did she ever disclose the information, and none had asked since then. The boy bore his mother's hair colour and eyes, playing away in the sand.

Upon seeing the others, Ignis waved them over, smiling in a friendly manner. Food was served as the adults sat together to catch up while the kids sat in their little circle and ate. Until Gladio and Prompto were dragged away from the group by Ignis, asking if they could help bring something over from his car.

The walk was silent but the air was thick with worry as the spectacled man led them to his car. A simple car he rarely used save for long trips, but he mostly stayed in Lestallum.

'So what's going on specs?', Gladio asked, arms folded with a stoic look on his face. Ignis said nothing as he retrieved a yellow folder with the old Lucian crest pressed upon the body of the item. At the sight of their old nation's emblem, both men glanced at each other before Ignis spoke.

'The council has finally come to a decision regarding the throne', he explained.

Since the start of rebuilding Insomnia, members of the council who managed to have successors or find ones suitable for the task, have been chosen to reform the council. Ignis, having been the previous king's advisor, was placed in charge of them.

'And that is?', Gladio asked.

The look on Ignis' face truly hurt the others, it was a look that they knew all too well. 'They…want Aurora to be trained and educated as the next ruler', he said.

'What!? But, but she's five!', Prompto shouted.

Quickly Gladio slapped his chest in an attempt to stop further outbursts from him, last thing they needed were people eavesdropping on them. 'Noct was born into this, Aurora is completely unaware of her heritage, let alone who her parents were', Gladio said, looking at Ignis with obvious annoyance.

'And as far as we know, she believes Iris is her mother', Ignis mused, 'If we tell her all this now'.

'It'll break her heart', Prompto said.

The trio shared a sombre look between them, their duty conflicting with their oath to Noct. Ignis knew one day the council would reach this decision but to hear it happen now after five years of peace. He understood their reasons of course, he had been dreaming of seeing Insomnia returning to its glory for years and with each passing day the place he once called home was coming back.

Yet the cost…

He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge between them, a heavy breath exhaled from him. This dream had a hefty price to pay, and one he was not sure would be worth it. Leaning against the car, Gladio folded his arms in deep thought before he took a breath.

'What did you tell the council?', he asked.

'I have suggested, we wait until Aurora is at least sixteen before we tell her the truth', Ignis explained. 'At the very least, she would be more prepared for it'.

'Wait so we just drop that bombshell on her? Tell her, "Oh by the way, you're actually a princess and the daughter of King Noctis and the Oracle"?', Prompto asked exasperatedly.

'Of course not', Ignis sternly replied, before his features softened. 'But how do we explain this to her?'.

'There lies another problem', Gladio muttered.

'But the council will want an answer soon'.

Though the inner circle, bar their children, knew of the girl's true heritage, they were forced to reveal the truth to the members of the council. As much as they would have preferred to keep her heritage between themselves, if they want the Lucian line to remain on the throne the truth would have to be shared with the council. They managed to come up with some story about her whereabouts and how she came to be despite the short time Noct and Luna had, thanks to Prompto.

It also helped that Ignis used the myths surrounding the ring of the Lucii to spin the tales into a more believable story.

They managed to get the council to reframe from forcing the girl into a life of royalty at her birth and instead allowed her to remain unaware of the truth, but their patience was running thinner and thinner with each passing month. Ignis had stalled them, came up with every excuse he could think of and the amount of stone walling he did, he could build a castle with it.

But when word begun to spread about Niflheim having a new emperor, Tenebrae chosen a new leader and Altissia finally re-establishing its government, the council grew fearful of the fate of Insomnia. Sooner or later the Nifls would no doubt invade and re-capture their former land from the Lucians once more, and with no leader or ruler, they'd have little to no chances to keeping their lands safe.

They couldn't even have a steward to rule over until Aurora's reached that right age, seeing as Insomnia hadn't used a steward since the 90th king, and whatever traditions that came with it had been lost years ago.

Even if Ignis could find someone with equal calibre and valour worthy of being a steward, the council would be less than thrilled to have a "pretender" on the throne. Even he himself wouldn't be considered as candidate, regardless of his accomplishments and loyalty to the throne. 'So what do we do?', Prompto asked. 'I can't say I like the idea the council's going with'.

'I doubt any of us would jump at the option to throw Aurora on the throne', Ignis mused. He then clapped his hands together and with a stern look, resumed his speech. 'No, we will not allow this to pass'.

'Aurora is too young to be forced onto the throne, nor do we go back on our promise', the advisor said with conviction that almost made Gladio see Noct for a moment. 'The council will simply have to make do with what we have to offer'.

Back at the camp site, IE, the haven, the children were helping the women with the cleaning from the meals. Aurora was helping Fulgur doing the washing up, the latter washing while she dried the dishes. Something she absolutely hated, the grossness of soggy food or squishy substances her little hands would touch sent shivers and waves of disgust down her spine.

Fulgur however seemed to ignore it, his expression never changing from his concentrated looks. It was weird she notice, how he can remain so focus on something as mundane and boring with things like this. Maybe it was because his dad told him that when you're asked to do something, you do it to the best of your ability. Sure her mon gave her encouragement for school, but Fulgur always took his tasks so seriously it was both amazing but also very boring.

Once the dishes were washed, the two turned to see Clavam waving at them, her lower half blocked by the haven. Curious, the two kids followed her to the others who were all standing by the old draw points. Aurora remembered Iggy telling her about these one time during a homework session at his home, he said these were magical spot that only certain people can use.

'Wow', Ferox commented.

The cool icy breath of the veins washed over the six kids, Aurora finding it incredibly refreshing from the intense heat from the sunny beach. 'Kids! Desert is ready!', Coctura called. At the word, most of the kids ran back to the haven, Fulgur was about to join them, but he stopped. Turning he saw Aurora still looking at the veins with childlike wonder. 'You guys coming?', Clavam asked, herself and Vitae stopped for them.

'Aura?', asked Fulgur.

She didn't respond, instead, she kept looking at the vein. Something, whether it was childish curiosity or some feeling she couldn't place, Aurora lifted her hand and aimed it to the pointing rocks. Suddenly, the cold misty air around them swirled and danced until they shot towards the young princess.

The danced around her arm until they ran down and flowed into the palm of her hand until the veins depleted entirely. The cold gone and the heat took its place. The princess fell back with a cry, crawling away from it and looking at her hand. Quickly Fulgur joined her side along with the other two.

'Holy crud, did you see that?', Vitae asked, his eyes wide as dinner plates.

'She drew from that rock thingy!', Clavam pointed out.

Aurora looked at Fulgur, her eyes widened with confused fear, desperately hoping the smartest boy amongst them would tell her what just happened. But she only found worry and confusion just like the others, even he wasn't sure what she just did.

'Kids!'.

The trio looked up to see Prompto and Ignis jogging to them. 'We heard someone shrieking, you guys ok?', Prompto asked, immediately going to Vitae and checking him for anything.

Ignis however looked at the princess, and then to the veins, then back to her. 'Fulgur, what happened?', he asked, knowing full well his son would tell the truth. The boy showed hesitation, looking between Aurora and his father, conflicted by his love for the man who raised him and loyalty to his friend.

Sensing his son's turmoil, Ignis offered him a softened smile and knelt down. 'You're not in trouble, my boy. I promise neither of you are', he assured.

'I-I…the magic's gone', Aurora admitted, so quietly it was barely above a whisper, 'I aimed my hand at it… a-and it went into my hand'. At this, the softened looks vanished and in its place, a look of shock. Ignis looked at the princess, looking at her arm with obvious worry, before she looked up at Ignis.

'Uncle Iggy, why did the magic go into my hand?', she asked, her voice told him she was close to tears.

Truth be told, the advisor was close himself. Looking at the poor girl, those worried eyes…reminded him of a young Noctis whenever he felt incredibly down or worse. If she was able to draw magic at such a young age, where it took Noct years to draw even a quarter of the vein completely, meant the power of Lucis was starting to finally show in the young girl.

'Father?', Fulgur asked, worried by the silence, 'Is Aura going to be fine?'.

He took one glance at Prompto, who showed just the same, if not more, worry. The blond ducked his gaze back to his son. Even behind him he felt Gladio's own gaze fall on them all. Gladio said nothing, placing a hand on Forex's shoulders as she clutched his leg, confused by the events that unfolded before her.

He swallowed back his shock and gave them all a nod. 'Don't worry, it's just…luck on her end', he explained. He got up and ruffled her hair warmly. 'Do not worry yourself, my dear. The magic is quite old and whatever affect it would've had on you has long since vanished', he promised. Clapping his hands together, he turned to his friends. 'Right, I believe Coctura has prepared her famous apple pie for desert yes?'.

At the mention of the desert, the kids dropped their worries and raced to the camp site, leaving behind the three adults behind. All shared the same looks of dread.

*Iris' Home*

Placing her daughter in bed after her bath and tucking her in, Iris kissed her forehead. 'Well that was a fun day, right?', she asked. Aurora nodded happily, showing her perfect white teeth. 'I'll see you in the morning then, we have to make sure we have enough snacks for our movie night', she said.

Before Iris left though, Aurora spoke up. 'Mama?'.

Iris turned to her, the girl seemingly shrinking in her sheets. 'What was…papa like?', she asked.

A question the Amicitia dreaded for so long, and one that became a frequent question on a regular basis in the past year. She simply mustered a smile and kissed her forehead. 'He was one of the kindest, bravest men, and he would've been thrilled to have you as a daughter', she said. That seemed to sate the child's ever growing curious mind, as she nuzzled into the pillow as her mother switched on the night light and left.

On the outside though, she let a few tears fall.

Both out of the memory of Noct…and the fact her daughter's lineage was growing closer and closer to the light…

*Ignis' Home*

So much to worry, and now with Aurora's lineage slowly working up, it made the older man wonder what other traits would spring up from her. Gods he prayed it was the need for excessive sleeping, that would be the least of his worries.

'If it gets too cold, close the window. The lower latch will be the only to close', he explained as he locked the other latches higher up. Fulgur let out a sound of agreement, closing the book he was reading.

'Father?', he said. Ignis turned to see his son's sharp eyes. 'How did Aura do that? I thought only the old kings could draw magic', he asked. Ignis remained silent, his eyes steely but in his heart. The advisor sighed as he sat down on the bed.

'…Fulgur…what, do you remember, when you were younger?', he asked. The boy hummed in thought before he spoke up again. 'I remember, there was…darkness…and you left with someone…then you came back, and you could see again', he said slowly, trying to piece together the memories bit by bit.

'Yes…and you know what I was? Before the darkness?', Ignis asked. 'Aunt Iris said, you were a Crownsguard?', he said.

'I was… I was part of a group that was to protect…', he tired but faltered. Memories of his old life sprung back to him, thoughts of their journey together…and the day he lost Noct for the final time. 'Father?', Fulgur spoke, his accented voice had never sounded so small and frail.

Ignis turned to him, and then wrapped him into a hug. It was all he could do, just to prevent his tears from spilling before his son. 'I'll tell you tomorrow morning…', he promised.

He then allowed his son to sleep and after exiting his son's room, he opened his phone.

It turns out, Fulgur is the only one asking question about Aurora. Gladio had texted him that Clavam was demanding to know what was going on with her best friend, Gladio showing a picture of the girl pouting and stubbornly refusing to go to bed it seems.

Prompto was faring no better, Vitae seemed to be threatening to dip his camera in oil if he doesn't talk about Aurora. The spectacled man let out a deep sigh, as he sent both men the text they dreaded for a long time.

"We'll have to tell them everything tomorrow".


	3. Chapter 3

Final Fantasy XV-2

Dawn

Chapter Two

Heritage

Arms restraint, on his knees, eyes searching for anything in the darkness. Yet no matter how he struggled, how hard he tugged on his chains or against his captors, Ignis could do nothing but glare at his captor.

'My, you still don't know when to call it quits', Ardyn taunted smugly, walking around him. The red haired man gave the advisor a smug smile as he plucked his glasses from his coat pocket, a pair of glasses that turned Ignis' skin white.

'Isn't it ironic? You lose your sight, but in exchange, you save your king', he mused. He turned to Ignis, delivering a sinister grin. 'But now you have your sight back…but at what cost?'. Slowly he gestured behind him, before the advisor. Standing in the darkness, Fulgur's hands were out searching, his small frame shook with fear. When he turned around, Ignis let a horrified gasp.

Upon his son's face were the exact same scars he bore once, eyes closed as he blindly searched for anything. 'Father!? Father where are you!?', he cried, his voice so close to crying. Ignis screamed his name, desperate to help his son but nothing came from his mouth. He was completely mute, Ardyn's magic closed his vocal cords entirely. He glared at the man, who placed a finger to his lip in a taunting manner.

'FATHER!', the boy cried, hands searching madly for anything to grab or support himself. Ignis trashed and struggled for freedom, his eyes never leaving his panicking son's form, his own eyes grew moist with each passing second. Not again, he thought desperately. 'A shame really, he had such a bright future ahead', Ardyn commented nonchalantly. 'Unlike you, who had the education and will to push yourself, he won't even be able to tie his shoes'.

Ignis roared and shouted his son's name silently, desperately trying to break through the curse that stole his voice from him. 'But fear not, Iggy', Ardyn commented. His eyes widened in terror when he saw the false king brandish a dagger, the exact same dagger Ignis once carried for Noct. 'I'll do you a kindness, and put this poor thing out of his misery', he said, so joyously and kindly it was sickening. With a saunter, he approached Fulgur, Ignis screaming his son's name in vain.

Ardyn reached him and raised the dagger… and plunge it into the boy's heart-

'FULGUR!'.

Shooting up from bed with a roar, dagger in hand and green eyes a lit with rage, Ignis searched the room for the red head monster. He panted in cold sweat, breathing heavily as the tension left his body when his mind reminded him he was in his own home and bed. He dropped the dagger to his side and placed his head in his hands with a heavy gasp.

Ignis hasn't had a nightmare this bad since he first went blind, but this was a hundred times worse. Shaking, the former advisor switched on his lamp and plucked his glasses up, putting them on after another few minutes to collect himself and clear his mind. Looking at the alarm clock, he could see it was four am, much earlier than he had intended to get up at. He needed to, he had to see…

Silently the man entered his son's room, carefully approaching the boy's sleeping form. He smiled softly when he spotted the green nightlight was still alit, although it was hidden by the dresser. It appeared the boy still needed the little light Ignis mused, not that he disapproved of the choice. He wouldn't admit it, but it took him to the age of nine for him to finally break that little fear of his, and he was in no rush to get Fulgur to do the same.

Gently he brushed his hand against his son's sleeping form, the boy let out a small sigh of comfort in his sleep. He was safe he mused to himself, Ardyn is dead and far from his son, his sight was still intact, he was safe. Yet the father's heart still felt the twinge of fear, like the nightmare loomed over his shoulder. Ignis did promise to tell his son, like Gladio and Prompto, especially after today and realistically, it would be easier the sooner he told him.

Leaving his son's room, after taking one last glance at the boy, he exited and closed the door quietly. Sleeping was no longer an option for him, apprehension of another nightmare occurring quickly stopped him from even going back into his bedroom, so he decided he was up for the day. Going into the kitchen, which was a combination of the former and living room, he brewed himself an ebony and figured he could finish the book Gladio gave him weeks ago.

Yet when he pulled the book from the shelf, another fell from it. Sighing, Ignis reached down to pick it up but it was opened up. It was actually an album Prompto gave him, dubbed on the cover "The Best of Iggy and Noct". Hesitantly, the dagger wielding man picked it up and with the novel forgotten. He sat down on the couch with his ebony left on the glass table before him, his green eyes scanned each of the photos with nostalgia and sadness.

One photo he would've frowned back then, was one where Noct was wearing his glasses for a prank, but lo and behold like most of the former king's pranks, it backfired. He fell out of the haven and broke his arm, and damaged the glasses in the process. He chuckled at this, a kid to the end.

Next photo brought a warm smile to his face. The picture showed himself and Noct cooking together, unaware of Prompto's photo taking. Ignis remembered the prince just asked if he could help him out, and even ventured into unknown waters that was how to do a casserole. His first dinner he ever made, and for Iggy, it was the most delicious meal he ever had.

Another one that made him chuckle was showing Ignis with the rod and a rather large fish held by himself and Noct. A day at the Quay, Noct actually invited him to do some fishing for a change, and wouldn't he know it, Ignis actually caught a whopper of a fish after the first two hours of waiting. Prompto managed to capture a good smile, but Ignis would never forget that smile on the king's face when he managed to catch a fish, it was so bright and warm, like he was proud of Ignis.

Scrolling through the photos brought smiles, laughter and sighs of nostalgia for him, until he reached the last one.

It was the first major group photo they took, when the Regalia was repaired by Cindy. The smiles on the group, the brilliant shine of the car from the sun. Ignis placed a hand on the photo, eyes growing wet from looking at the photo. It was all innocent at first he remembered, the journey they took completely unaware of what was about to occur, the loss of their home, the journey they took. The loss of his brother…

He shuddered as he took a breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, by the gods. So much had happened, so many things he had planned with Noct. He was so proud of the man he became, no matter what, but he was so heartbroken.

'Father?'.

Ignis turned behind to see Fulgur, shyly approaching him. His green eyes softened with worry when he saw the tears in his father's eyes. 'What's wrong?', he asked. Ignis bit his inner cheek before he gestured his son to join him on the couch. Fulgur did so as Ignis showed him the photos, remembering Fulgur never did see these before. He just was curious sure but Ignis had taught him well not to snoop into his father's things without his consent or watch.

When he saw the photo, the boy's eyes showed interest and wonder, looking between his father and the photo. 'Is that you?', he asked. Ignis chuckled at the innocent question, he himself was surprised by how much younger he looked back then. 'Indeed, when we first left Insomnia', he said. 'That was Gladio and Prompto', he explained. Fulgur smiled at the image but then he giggled. 'Uncle Prompto looks so skinny', he said.

Ignis chuckled as well, Prompto had truly changed from the past, fifteen years and here he was, buff and confident. But Fulgur's brows furrowed when he saw Noct, Ignis felt a lump in throat. The moment of truth. 'Who's that? He looks…familiar…', the young boy said.

'…He was my best friend and brother…and for a while, my king', Ignis explained. Fulgur looked at his father, who gave his son his full attention. 'His name is…was, Noctis Lucis Caelum, king of Insomnia…and Aurora's father'. Fulgur turned to his father with wide eyes, disbelief written upon his small face yet he could see the boy putting the similarities together. 'B-But, where is he?', he asked.

'Noctis…Fulgur, do you remember when there was no sun or light?', he asked. 'Uh huh?', he answered. 'Well, you see…'.

Ignis told him the story of the Destiny of the Chosen, and how Aurora was born as gift from the Six, and he even told him about Iris' role and Lunafreya. Ignis worried he was overloading the boy's mind with all this information, but Fulgur's face held no confusion or horror, rather the more Ignis told him, the more sad and concerned his face looked. Once he finished the tale of Aurora's adoption, Fulgur looked at the photo of Noct.

'…And Aura doesn't know?', he whispered. 'No, we couldn't tell her now. Not until she was ready', Ignis answered truthfully. '…But why were you with him?', Fulgur asked. 'I was a member of the Crownsguard and the Kingsglaive, my duty was to protect and stay with Noctis. I was as they say, his "Right Hand man". And because he was my brother', he told him.

Fulgur remained silent, eyes still fixed on the photo of his father's friends, a look that Ignis couldn't decipher. It was at times where Ignis lamented Fulgur took a lot of his traits, the one where he couldn't be read was a mixed blessing. Then, the boy looked at him. 'Will Aura be the queen one day?', he asked. 'I…cannot say for certain, as Insomnia is still being rebuilt and…we're still keeping her heritage a secret from most people', he explained. 'But is there a chance? Yes'.

'…so you had to look after Noctis?', he asked. Not exactly what Ignis' position meant per say, but he certainly took up the role for his brother. He gave his son a nod.

Then, when his son faced him again, there was a look of sheer determination.

'Then, I'll do the same'.

Ignis blinked at this, but before he could ask for clarification, Fulgur spoke first. 'Teach me, so I can help Aura like you did for Noctis!', he said. Ignis opened his mouth, denying the boy but when he stared into his eyes…

He could see himself staring down Ardyn with those eyes, the day he gave up his sight for his king…It was like staring into a mirror. Fulgur…taking his place. The nightmare still haunted him but…

'…Fulgur, the requirements will be…difficult to say the least. You do-

'You did it! And uncle Gladio told me how you lost your eyes before!', he said.

Of course he did Ignis thought, biting back a groan. 'He said you gave your eyes for someone, to help them! If it was Noctis, why shouldn't I help Aura?', he stated with the conviction rivalling Ignis. The man looked at his son, before he slowly placed a hand on him, and nodding. 'I will teach you everything I know, so that you can protect her, and surpass me'.

*Next Day, Gladio's home*

Grunting with effort with each push, Gladio kept his eyes closed as he mentally counted the pushes he did. With eyes closed it was easier to do, since everything in his "man cave" ,as his wife kindly teases him about, would distract him or admittedly make him decide to go work on something else. Namely the treadmill or weights, much easier to do for a man as active as him.

That…and he could not look at his kids glaring at him.

No doubt, he mused, the two little trouble makers he loves are still sitting on the bench looking at him with Clavam's glare and Forex's pout. He chuckled at them with eyes still shut, their attempts to make him uncomfortable worked as well as encouraging Prompto to ask a girl out back in the day. But Gladio would give them credit, stubbornness and determination went hand in hand with those two, they've been glaring at him for almost an hour without relent.

Normally on a Saturday morning Clavam would be helping Yuria with baking and Forex would be doing the "sickest of tricks" on her skateboard as she would state. But nope, ever since Aurora's magical discovery, the two had been adamant in their father telling them what's going on with their best friend. The former shield had been very split in telling them about Noctis and their exploits, regardless of what Ignis said.

Of course he understood why they should tell them and if he wasn't a parent he'd be the first to get Ignis or Prompto to fess up. Yet every time he mustered up the courage, all it took was to look at his kids and suddenly keeping them in the dark became less and less unappealing. Part of him did feel shame that he was this much of a coward, he could only imagine how his father would react if he was dancing around the subject.

Granted Gladio didn't start his Crownsguard training until he was thirteen and only joined them when he turned eighteen, but that didn't encourage him to tell the kids. If he knew them as well as his wife, he'd know they'd jump the wagon to Crownsguard Aurora in a heartbeat. It was at times like this Gladio felt a surge of pride for them, and great terror.

'Papa', whined Forex.

The large man smirked at her whines, their patience nearing the end it seems. He opened his eyes to see Clavam, still glaring, and Forex now on her stomach watching him. 'Giving up already Rox? Thought I taught ya better than that', he teased. The younger sibling's pout grew more comical as Clavam still retained her "fierce" glare. He eventually got back to his feet, clapping his hands with a satisfied grunt. Gladio turned around and headed for the tread mail but his two kids, having grown weary of just sitting there.

They both stood before the giant, eyes glowering at him stubbornly as they bared his path. Gladio chuckled as he ruffled both their hairs and walked around them. They'll have to do better than that…

'GO FOR THE LEGS!', Clavam ordered.

Gladio grunted and stumbled a bit. Looking down he spotted his kids wrapped around his legs, still glaring at their father with sheer determination still glowing in their eyes. "Stubborn little brats…" the giant thought to himself, smirking at them both. He awkwardly strode onwards though, regardless of the extra weight on his legs.

'Its not working!', Forex stated.

'I KNOW!', Clavam replied.

The older sister climbed up to her father's waist, grunting with effort as she climbed. Once she reached his shoulders, climbing trees had nothing on Gladio, she then glared at him with renewed intensity. 'Tell me!', she ordered.

Gladio rolled his eyes, before he ceased his walks and easily pried them both off him. 'Look…what happened yesterday, its…', he started but he faltered, words failing him. He bit back a chuckle, if only Noctis could see him now. The man who would damn protocol and speak to the king in any manner, heck he even grabbed him by the collar of his jacket once. Yet here he is, unable to explain to his kids that Aurora is actually a princess.

He let out a sigh and ran a hand through the hairs on the back of his head, swallowing that worrisome pill. 'Come on', he said.

Gladio led the two of them to another door within the cave, locked by a specific key made by Cindy. Unlocking it and after putting in the numbered password he had her installed, he led them inside what he called the armoury. Adorned the walls were old great swords and shields he used during the journey with Noct, the old crownsguard flag hanging on the wall with several books nesting in a shelf.

His kids looked at the weapons with awe, namely Clavam in particular. The dark haired girl looked at the same weapon Gladio used during the final assault on the citadel, the blade still glowed dimly from the remnants of Noct's old magic. Gladio pulled out a book from his shelf, the old Amicitia crest upon the body, faded but still recognizable. He turned to his kids and sat down on the bench with them. Opening his book, he showed the line of Amicitias all the way to himself and his father.

'The Amicitia family had been the sworn shield to the Kings of Lucis, for centuries we guard the king from anything and anyone', he explained. '…This was your grandfather, he served his majesty King Regis Lucis Caelum'. He showed Clarus Amicitia to his kids, both looking at him with curiosity, Forex looking more confused while Clavam looked intently at the picture. 'But, I was assigned to guard this man', he explained further, showing a page, or rather a photo, of himself and Noct.

'This here was Noctis, his son and my prince turned king', he said. He gave a nostalgic smile. 'He was a royal pain in the ass, lazy and smart assed kid I've ever met…and trust me when I say I wish I had more time to spend with him'. Clavam and Ferox looked at Noct with genuine curiosity, both of them looking back and forth between their father and the photo. 'You were his shield? Did mean you were a bodyguard?', Clavam asked.

'Yeah basically', Gladio mused. He showed them another photo of the old group, standing by the Quay docks, Angelgard island behind them. 'Aurora is his kid, given to us by the Astrals as a gift for us doing our job', he said. The kids looked at him with shock and surprise, he ruffled their hairs and explained the backstory to them. Never had he seen the kids look so mesmerized by the tale, he spent two hours total telling of their road trip, the bounties, the trials they endured. He did leave out his fight with Gilgamesh though, believing that was a story for another day.

Once he explained to them why Noct was dead and how Aurora came to be, he explained the rest of the Amicitia and their role with the Lucis bloodline. However, once he finished, he could see them yawning and eyes droopy. 'Looks like story time is over', he mused. With a chuckle, he scooped them both up into his arms, impressed by how they still weighed so little for him. Carrying them into their bedrooms, he tucked them both each into their beds, kissing their foreheads and whispering "goodnight" to them.

Once he left the room though…

'Sis…you awake?', Clavam asked.

'Yeah…dad really liked Noct, huh?'.

Clavam rolled onto her side to look at her, her bed being across from her own, seeing Ferox looking at her. 'He said the Amicitias always, shielded the Lucis family right?', she asked.

'Yeah…he said that', Clavam reminded.

'…And I'm gonna do it'.

Ferox looked at her sister, who gave her a determined look. 'Dad said the Amicitia family always guarded them, and now it's my turn', she said. 'Aurora is gonna be princess…or queen, one day. She'll need a good shield'.

Ferox nodded, grinning. 'Then we'll be her shields!', she said.

With determination burning in their hearts and a promise made, the two slept, big things tomorrow.

*Prompto's Home, Nightfall*

It was quiet at Hammerhead, save for the gentle breeze and occasional howling of the wild beasts that stalked the desert. Vitae was laying upon the rooftop of the garage, looking up at the stars in thought. His favourite place to be when he was thinking, as his mother used to say, and he found himself coming up here more and more lately.

A set of footsteps stopped his thoughts along with a small sigh. 'You do know you can move a chair up here, right?', Prompto asked, joining his son. Vitae gave his dad a smirk, his father just resting against the ventilation box, looking up at the stars too. They both just stared up in silence, enjoying the quiet and the time they spend together. These were moments both father and son enjoyed, just spending time together in silence.

Until…

'Look…about what happened with Aurora…', Prompto started. Vitae looked at his dad, he showed what looked to be a much older looking camera than today's sets. Vitae could see the colour was worn, several scratches covered it and he saw the straps were withered and tattered. His father though looked at this old device with a fond look of nostalgia. 'This little thing had been with me since I was a kid, plenty of memories in here', he explained.

Vitae sat closer to him and looked at the screen, showing several photos. The boy could honestly say if Prompto's greatest talent wasn't being a dad, he certainly would make an amazing photographer. The boy couldn't count the amount of amazing photos his dad took, he made the most mundane things look like places only in dreams. Prompto showed his son several photos of himself and his uncles along with another man.

'Hey…is that you?', he asked, pointing at a much younger looking Prompto. 'Heh, yeah. That scrawny dork is me'. 'So…not much changed?'. Prompto ruffled his son's hair with a laugh, Vitae giggling at his gesture. 'Ya little smarty pants!'. He kept showing him photos of his past, but stopped at one featuring himself and Noctis, a selfie photo. 'This guy here? This was my best friend', he explained. Vitae looked at the former king, seeing the mirth and light heartened looks in both their eyes.

'His name was Noctis Lucis Caelum, King of Insomnia', he continued. 'Insomnia…? You mean that old city back there?', Vitae asked, gesturing the Crown City with his thumb in the distance. 'The very same, but back then it was our home. Before the Niflheim empire attacked it', he said. 'That started our big road trip turned into saving our home'.

He showed him another photo of himself and Noct, this time it showing the king doing a pose while there was a large catoblepas slowly approaching behind him. Vitae laughed at the panicked look his father's friend had, no doubt he was just itching to start running for his life. 'Oh man he was furious with me that day. Said if I ever get him do something that risky he was gonna sell my camera for scrap metal', Prompto said with a chuckle.

Vitae smiled up at his dad as he showed a different pic. 'But how did you know the king?', Vitae asked. 'Heh, funny story. See, we went to the same school together, and well…after I worked up the courage to even say "hi" I approached him and said "Hey there, Prince Noctis". He gave him a smile. 'So that's how we ended being best friends. And after several months, I met Ignis and Gladio, then finally got my place in the Crownsguard'.

'Crownsguard?', Vitae asked.

'Basically guardians to the prince', Prompto explained. 'Spent pretty much what time I had learning the ropes and fighting'. 'Like Gladio?', Vitae asked. 'HA! Nope! Never had the talent for swords…or the muscle. I stuck with guns', he said. Vitae gave his dad a look of disbelief, his father is a klutz most of the time, even his mom would agree. Seeing his son's look however, Prompto smirked and stood up.

Materializing his old gun, Prompto turned and emptied the six rounds of the revolver into the old billboard with keen precision, hitting the large circle with perfect accuracy. All six bullets in one hole. Vitae's jaw dropped to the ground in awe as Prompto spun his gun in hand and made it disappear with a smug grin. 'Believe your old man's got skills now?', he asked. Vitae nodded dumbly.

'But yeah, back then I was like a fish out of the water', Prompto admitted. 'I felt like I didn't belong with them, but Noct he…he kept assuring me and reminding me I was worth a damn, all the way to the very end'.

He sat down and sighed. 'See, before you were born, our world was suffering from the Starscourge. A darkness that never let up, and light was practically non-existent. Only Noct could give back the light', he explained. 'But where is he now?', Vitae asked. '…He had to sacrifice himself to bring the light back…', Prompto answered.

The rubbed his eyes with his knuckle, holding back a sob. 'But see…this messenger from the Astrals, she gave us a baby'. He turned to him. 'The child of the King and the Oracle, and do you wanna know who she is?'. Vitae's eyes widened. 'Aurora…', he mused.

'Yup…daughter of King Noctis and Lady Lunafreya', Prompto finished.

Vitae blinked before he looked at his hands. 'So, that thing she did? That magic thingy?'. 'Yeah, her old man did the same thing', Prompto answered. 'But how come she doesn't know?', he asked. '…Its, to protect her. We made a promise to let her have a normal childhood before we tell her she's the future queen'.

He placed both hands on his son. 'The only thing I want you to do, is be her friend', he said. 'The most important thing anyone can have, royalty or commoner, is a loyal friend', Prompto assured.

Vitae gave his father an understanding nod, as he rested his head into his father's chest, being wrapped into a hug.

So now the children knew of their father's past…will they continue their legacy or surpass them?

A/N:

THIS. WAS. MEANT. TO. BE, DONE. WEEKS AGO!

I apologize for procrastination, lack of motive and just overall walls. I hope you enjoyed this "ok" chapter. Next time…we'll see what happens.

Stay awesome but most importantly stay safe!


	4. Chapter 4

Final Fantasy XV-2

Chapter 3

The Emperor and Voices

Two Years later…

'When was the Lucis Line established?', Ignis asked, not looking up from his list of questions.

'During the "Ancient Age", Fulgur answered, confidently.

'Good, and how did this come to be?'.

'It is said, a man fought alongside the gods when the Starscourge first occurred. He had been given special powers to his bloodline, the Crystal to protect, and the Ring of the Lucii'.

Ignis nodded before picking the next question. 'What was the name and title of that man?'.

'The Founder King's true name is Somnus Lucis Caelum', Fulgur said.

Satisfied, Ignis closed his note book and sat up from his chair. The sun was descending below the mountains; the exam had gone on longer than he had anticipated. The former advisor had expected Fulgur to request a break long ago but the child was adamant in perfecting the exam.

'That will do for tonight', he said. Fulgur let out a jaw creaking yawn in response, his poise slouching and eyes droopy. He was clearly exerting himself, much to Ignis' worries. Two years since he told his son about Aurora and the role he played, and the boy was increasingly worrying his father with his dedication to fulfilling his role to the future princess.

Granted Ignis was proud of his determined pace, he would be entering a much higher education soon at this rate. Yet the father in him was adamant in the boy would rest and be what he should be for a while, a child. Ignis made it a priority to remind him of this fact, constantly spending time with him and trying to help find hobbies and interests for him to explore.

He patted his son's shoulder with approval, pride in his green eyes as Fulgur gave his father a tired smile. 'Wash yourself up and relax, I'll prepare dinner', he said. Nodding and with slow movement, his son entered the bathroom while his father tidied his notes and pens.

At the stove, he was already prepping the rice and stirring the chicken in the curry, his son's favourite meal. A small reward for his hard work Ignis figured, though he believed he should at least do something more to show his son's hard work wouldn't feel unrewarded.

Just as he started to pour the bowls and mix up the sauce with the food, his doorbell rang. Puzzled and looking at the clock hanging in the living room, he was surprised to have a visitor at such a late hour. Cautiously, Ignis approached the door and peered through the small glass hole in his door, seeing Gladio of all people waiting there with Prompto.

Unlocking his door for them, he gave them a confused look. 'A bit late for a visit, isn't gentlemen?', he asked. Prompto scratched the back of his head tiredly. 'You're telling me, I asked the big guy if we can't leave it for another night', Prompto said, voicing his weariness.

Turning his eyes to the said giant, Ignis spotted a look he hadn't seen in his eyes for quite some time. Steel eyes with focused determination yet clashing with trepidation, his hands clenched and posture stiff. A look he carried when Noct was in great danger, a look a Shield would bare. 'No, it cannot it seems', Ignis said, his own tone leaving no chance for arguing. He turned to his son, who just came out of the bathroom, looking surprised to see Gladio and Prompto.

'Get dressed son, and bring something with you', Ignis said, brushing past him to throw on proper clothes. Confused, the boy turned to his fleeing father before Gladio patted his head good naturedly, smiling. 'We're gonna be having a guys night out kiddo, and we wanna bring your dad with us', explained the former shield, eyes lit with mirth. 'So you're gonna with Iris tonight, the others are there too'.

Then he smiled softly at the bigger man, excitement brightened in his eyes at the thought.

*Iris' Home*

'Again, I'm sorry for springing this upon you at such short notice', Ignis apologized for like the eleventh time as he watched Fulgur being dragged by Clavam to join the others. Iris giggled at the apology, turning to her friend.

'Iggy, its fine. I'm sure they'll be happy to have another playmate', assured Iris. 'If anything, you and Prompto were the only ones who looked guilty for the surprise visit'. She directed that little remark at her brother, who just gave her a shrug in retort.

Gladio then gestured the two to follow him as they bid their kids a good night (after Ignis left instructions and reminders to his son) and headed out. Smiling to herself, Iris turned to see the kids in the living room playing together, Aura on the couch with Ferox watching Vitae showing off a new invented toy his mother worked on.

Fulgur was sitting close to Clavam, the latter looked at the toy with a mixture of interest and boredom, but she refused to budge from Fulgur.

At the cooker, just to make snacks for the kids, the little sister of Gladio was had a pensive look on her face as she worked. Gladio had rang her just a few hours earlier to ask if she could mind the kids for a few hours. Yuria was unfortunately visiting a relative from Altissia and Cindy couldn't watch the kids at Hammerhead while working. While it held no trouble for the woman, Aura loved having her friends over on a regular basis, plus it was a roomy house for everyone.

What worried her was the looks Gladio had on his face, it was worrying her to say the least and he wouldn't explain it entirely to her when she asked. All he did was look at Aurora, and his face was grim, something akin to whenever Noctis was in trouble. That was enough for her to agree and mind the kids.

She just hoped whatever it was that bothered him wasn't something that severe…although past events had told her that was just wishful thinking…

*Bar*

'So am I gonna be the only in the dark or what?', Prompto asked impatiently. He never liked being in the dark when it came to these two being either serious. Gladio merely showed them the newspaper, published by Vyv and his company, and spun it to show his brothers. Prompto and Ignis glanced at the headline along with the picture of familiar looking area. 'Hey…isn't that, Niflheim?', Prompto asked. Ignis gave a grunt before he read the headlines and gave a grim look. 'As of today, Niflheim has elected a new emperor to restore the Nilfheim empire to its former glory'.

Prompto looked at the paper and the guys in shock as Gladio glowered in his drink, Ignis raising his hand for a drink. 'A new emperor was bound to happen soon… but so soon', Ignis muttered, a pensive look taking place on his face. 'But who's the new guy? Don't remember him from before', Prompto asked. 'According to the paper…his name is Typicus…Aldercapt', Ignis said slowly. He looked at Gladio in shock as Prompto's own jaw slammed to the table.

'Aldercapt…as in…SON!?', Prompto gasped. He then sunk into his seat, a look of horror formed on his face with his skin taking a pale colour. 'Aldercapt…reproduced…', he muttered dumbly. Ignis turned to Gladio while poor Prompto was doing everything to push those thoughts into the deepest darkest sections in his brain. 'Did the glaives ever knew about him?', Ignis asked.

'I've been in touch with Cor and Libertus, they only found out via papers too', Gladio said. 'But, how did Iedolas manage to keep him a secret for so long? Even back then surely they would've found about him', Ignis inquired.

'That's the big question. He's in his teens apparently, probably born before the whole fiasco with Insomnia and Niflheim started', Gladio explained. 'But then again…could be another case of…', he started but then paused and overall stopped this speech.

'Maybe he did what Verstael was doing with me? Using his cells to create clones or…sons?', Prompto asked, disgust and anger in his tone. 'I wouldn't be surprised if the emperor thought that far ahead, in any attempts to keep the world under the Niflheim', Ignis hummed. So far the news from Niflheim was scarce and almost non-existent ever since the Starscourge had started, as it was the most daemonic populated place in Eos at the time.

So many of its citizens had been turned into daemons or been killed in the process, only a small portion of its people manage to evacuate to Lestallum before the eternal darkness fully begun. Since Noctis' sacrifice, the majority of them had returned in Niflheim with some of the hunters lending a hand in clearing out daemons. Not all of them though, and even to this day there was still daemons lurking within the imperial city.

Ignis took a sip of his wine, mulling over a worrying thought that was looming in their minds. 'Do you think, he's gonna do what his old man tried to do?', Prompto asked. 'What? Take over the world?', Gladio asked. 'If so, with what? The empire has no army, most of their research is likely gone or with luck, destroyed by anyone with a brain'. He wasn't wrong on that, and even then the population of the Nilfs was so low they wouldn't be able to replicate the power the old empire had in such a short time.

Ignis had to agree on his friend's statement, but a worrying thought had wrought in his mind. 'Aurora', he said. The two uncles looked at him as his eyes hardened. 'The council will have everything they need now. If Niflheim has an emperor, they'll need a figure in order to keep Insomnia alive and free from the emperor', he grunted. 'But she's like seven, that and if we blab that there's a Lucis alive and adorable and well, then…', Prompto said, but his eyes faded to worry.

'I don't give a damn about the council's choice, that kid isn't gonna touch that throne until A: we tell her the truth, and B: she's sixteen', Gladio affirmed. 'That is not going to change but…', Ignis sighed. 'We're close to having the Citadel finally restored to its former glory, and soon enough we'll have to move there', Ignis mused. Prompto let out a breath, looking up at the ceiling with a thoughtful look. 'Geez…moving back to Insomnia sounds like a dream now, doesn't it?'.

'I cannot disagree with that', Ignis chuckled. 'After so many years we're finally able to inhabit our old home'. So far according to the council, the Citadel was the first section of Insomnia to be rebuilt and restored to its glory, in preparation for her soon to be princess of the Crown City. Ignis had already been giving a place of his own choosing, and he had a specific place to call home once more.

'So, is Cor gonna go through with rebuilding the Crownsguard?', the blond asked. 'I've been asking that question too, and from what I can imagine he has already assembled a few seasoned hunters', Gladio replied. 'And he's asked me to come back and mentor the younger recruits'. 'Of course, can't say I know anyone better than yourself', agreed the spectacled man. Gladio merely grunted in response to this, looking at his beer with a conflicted look.

'Do you think otherwise?', Ignis inquired. 'No, I get why he picked me. But…that would mean I gotta pack up and head to Insomnia too', Gladio lamented. 'Can't say I'm in love with the idea of packing everything up and dragging the family to a new home'.

'Yeah, kinda hard to just pack and leave after putting roots down, huh?', Prompto agreed. 'Can't imagine Cindy wanting to move there'. The two looked at the blond haired man, his eyes downcast. 'Prompto, you do know by all means, you've retired from the Crownsguard, yes?', Ignis reminded, patting his shoulder. 'Yeah, I mean, Iggy and I are only doing this since our little monsters will follow our footsteps', Gladio said, chuckling at his own joke.

'Hey, Fulgur is far from a monster now', chastised Ignis with a smirk. 'Yeah, least he doesn't tackle hug me!', concurred Prompto with a cheeky. The three shared a laugh between them all, raising their glasses together. 'To whatever comes next, may our future be bright for ourselves and our children', Gladio said. They all clinked their glasses and chugged them down, all unaware of what lies ahead of them and their children.

*Later*

Silence fell upon the Amicitia household, the kids had been put to bed and Iris had retired to her bed once all the kids were all comfortable and asleep, and after putting her daughter to bed.

Except for Fulgur, who was stirred awake by a need to use the bathroom. He should never accept a challenge from Clavam when it involved drinking a surplus of sodas, they just don't do his bladder any favours.

So after he navigated the field of tangled and outstretched limbs that were his friends, Vitae is such a restless sleeper. Ferox was on the couch, sleeping soundly with the occasional mumble and turning in her sleep, Clavam snored like a bear, grunting often and then only when she buried her face into a pillow, did her snores become muffled and slightly more tolerable. Vitae was just restless, Fulgur swore he punched his face once in his sleep.

For scrawny kid he can punch like Gladio.

Using the rest room, he cleaned his hands thoroughly and after taking a gulp of water, a dying thirst clutched his throat out of nowhere, he carefully walked through the quiet house.

Then, as he passed Aurora's room (There was a bright pink sign on the door informing anyone it was her room) he stopped. The silvery haired youth turned to the door, hearing a noise from within. Now his father had taught him to respect a person's privacy and always knock before entering, but Fulgur heard a worrying sound of whimpers. Pressing his ear to the door, he heard small noises that sounded close to crying.

'Aura? Are you ok?', he said, gently rapping his knuckle against the door.

He got no response but the whimpers worried him greatly. Against the teachings his father had strived for him to learn, the boy opened the unlocked door and entered. He sees the girl tossing and turning in her sleep, tears running down her eyes, a look is distress. 'Aura!', he said, quickly running to her side and grabbing her shoulders.

He shook her madly, repeating her name with each shake as the girl's cries became louder and desperate. Fulgur berated himself mentally for not running and getting her mother, but his instinctive nature told him to wake her up before anything else. Soon, with one last call of her name, the girl jumped and her eyes opened up with alert and fear. When she stopped tossing and turning, she panted and turned to her equally worried friend.

Before he could even ask, she suddenly lunged upon him, crying renewed and forgoing all quiet and allowed her cries to be heard. Fulgur froze upon the hug, unable to move or comprehend what he could do. Remembering what his father did, however, whenever he was upset, he slowly though awkwardly, wrapped his own arms around her. She bawled into his shoulder, shaking with terror and hiccupping.

'Aura!', cried a voice behind them.

Fulgur turned to see Aura's mother rushing into the room, just recently awake he guessed. When her eyes fell upon the children, she immediately crouched down to her daughter as Fulgur eased up on his hug to allow Aurora too see Iris. Upon seeing her tears, Iris instantly enveloped her daughter into a tight hug, pulling her close to and cradling her in her arms. Gently brushing her hand down her back, Iris whispered soothing word into her ear.

She looked at the boy, worry itched in her eyes. Fulgur looked down, unable to meet her gaze as the answers she sought were not going to appear from him.

Settling her daughter down enough for the tears to cease, Iris placed her on the bed and sat beside her. 'What happened, sweetheart?', she asked. 'I-I had a bad dream', she whimpered.

Fulgur said nothing, but his eyes showed sympathy to his friend. He himself still had nightmares about the eternal darkness on a regular bases, and the memories when his father couldn't see still haunted him.

'Oh sweetie, what was it?', Iris asked.

'…voices…telling me weird things…b-but I didn't understand what they were saying. There was so many, a-and when I didn't understand, they got angry and started to yell', she said, but her lips quivered and her voice wavered. Slowly she whimpered before gently started to sob again, clutching her mother's t-shirt, burying her face into her shoulder. Desperate to seek a shelter from the nightmare in the one place she felt safe at night.

Iris kept her arms around her daughter, her eyes darkened at the information, and unless it was Fulgur, he swore he saw tears beginning to form in her own eyes. 'Don't worry sweetheart, I'll speak with Iggy, he'll know what do to', she promised. Gently, she carried her daughter out of the room and into her own, hoping that being close to her mother would soothe her enough to go back to sleep. Once she had Fulgur back to his own bed anyways.

But as the boy laid there in thought, his own eyes felt watery too…

*Hammerhead, next night*

Prompto is a man who wouldn't take a single good thing in his life for granted.

So as a man who takes the good with full gratitude, he also knows when to just stop and appreciate the good. And oddly enough, watching his wife work on a car was one of those good thing.

Cindy is working on what he believed was her new goal since Vitae was born, and that was reviving the Regalia. So far to his wife's credit, it looked like the old machine the brothers knew and loved (a tad bit more than they let on), aside from the paint job. It was mostly a skeletal remains of the car without the body, engines and metal alike were being polished and tinkered by Cindy. Looking at his wife, Prompto smiled genuinely when he looked at her.

Sure she had barely changed since Vitae was born, and while she claims she looks much older than she lets on, Prompto could still see her as that beautiful goddess of machines when he first laid eyes on her, many years ago. Her hair was cut down shorter now, very reminiscent of Iris he'd admit when she was younger, she had grown an inch taller and whatever baby fat she had was gone after a month Vitae was born.

The whole pregnancy Prompto had put her first and before anything or anyone else, learning what he could in terms of mechanical work. Heck it was his second job by then. The hormones would make him laugh when she had mode swings. He took those rage induced hormones in his stride though, laughing it off and comforting her when she would randomly bawl her eyes out.

Then came the…other benefits. And if there was anything Prompto learned about Cindy, it's that when she wants to be seductive, by the Astrals she damn well knows how to seduce.

She detested being fat though, even though she knew it'd be gone once Vitae was born, and even complained about it. Prompto kept assuring her she looked beautiful no matter what, and he swore that wasn't because her amazing breasts got bigger during her pregnancy…partially anyways.

Quiet as a mouse, he approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Startling her slightly and causing her to jump a bit, she eased into his arms. Placing her hands on his own, she allowed him to pluck off her cap. 'Ya gotta warn a girl when ya want snuggles', she teased, 'I might've hit ya with my hammer'.

'You wouldn't hit me~ My face is too good to smack', Prompto teased back.

'True, I'd hate to wake up to an ugly mug anyways'.

Prompto chuckled softly, resting his nose into the crook of her shoulder lovingly. He laughed in his mind, years ago he couldn't muster up a single sentence to her without blushing and rambling like a school boy in front of his crush, yet here he was. Touching her in such a loving embrace, being so close to her without utter confidence but genuine affection for her.

Cindy apparently shared his desire as she leaned back to let her head rest beneath his chin. 'So, cuddling or you fancy something a little different?', she asked. She felt him smile into her neck, before his lips gently sucked on that spot, making her breathe out a soft sigh of pleasure. 'Maybe~', he sung.

Cindy relished these moments with her husband. Sure she'd always be a mechanic, married or single, and while she was admittedly apprehensive and cautious about starting a relationship with the blond haired man, truth be told she was happy to say he proved her wrong and then some. Sure he wasn't as mechanical handy as she is, and there were days she dreads handing him a tool, but for at least eighty-nine percent of the time her worries were for nothing.

Prompto is actually handy for bikes and engines, heck she'd be happy if he took the offer she gave him as a permanent bike repair man. Plus, his company was something she had gone from accustomed, to reviling in it. His cheerful jokes, good and bad, how his smile alone would light up the entire garage and make her work faster just so she could have him all to herself.

Which only brought her worry and apprehension in regards to her question.

'…I heard ya told Vitae about your adventures', she mused.

Prompto's arms pulled her tighter to him, his face still where it was before as he kissed her. 'Yeah, he was pretty determined to know the full story', he explained, his own tone showing relief and regret.

'So am I gonna be seeing him in the Crownsguard one day?', Cindy asked, looking at him.

Prompto showed his own worries in his blue eyes, gently turning her around just so she wouldn't have to crane her neck towards him. Prompto had made a promise to her he wouldn't be part of the new Kingsglaives or Crownsguard after learning she was carrying Vitae, and despite him not losing any of the strength and skills he had polished throughout the years, he hadn't brought up nor even entertained the idea of re-joining.

And Cindy would be lying if she told him she'd be happy he went back, especially now that Vitae was around.

'Well, Iggy and Gladio said their kids are determined to do the same…and Vitae said he wanted to go with them', he said. 'But from what Iggy told me, none of them learned any fighting yet'.

'Well that's good, I'd have a heart attack if I saw Vitae running around with one of your old guns!', Cindy said, with a humourless laugh.

Prompto had admittedly kept several of the guns he used in his days in a locker in Hammerhead, as he said each one carried a memory and that helped remind him how much he's grown as a person. But they were under at least six locks and only he and Cindy carried them or rather knew where he'd hide them.

Prompto gave his wife a smile as he brushed her cheek softly, earning a genuine laugh from her. 'Your thoughts? He's gonna need both our permissions anyway', Prompto said.

'Ain't you the expert on the subject?', she asked.

'I am a gifted Crownsguard sure, but I think if you ever held a gun, people would be more scared of you', he said. 'I may never have been on the receiving end, but I'm VERY sure if you did hit me with a wrench, I'd be out'.

Cindy gave him a smirk. 'Well I'm happy ya know that, sugar', she said. Her expression dimmed a bit, as she played with the collar of her usual yellow jacket.

If Vitae is anything like his pa, he'll certainly want to join the others in looking after Aurora in the future. The boy loved his friends dearly, she knew this based on how he acts with them, and she had a gut feeling Prompto encouraged him to be the friend Aurora was going to need in the future, especially when she and the world discovers she is a princess and the future ruler of Insomnia. She gave her husband a curious look.

'What about you? Do you want him to be Crownsguard?', she asked.

'Me? Not…really. I mean, I'd be happy for him if that's what he wanted…but would I want that to be his life ahead?', he said. 'I'm not sure'.

Least Cindy wasn't the only one with doubts and worries about their child's future, made her feel like she wasn't being the "no-fun" parent.

Sensing her worries, Prompto suddenly took her hands and gave her a dazzling smile. 'Hey, how bout I take you to dinner tonight?', he offered.

Before Cindy could respond to him, he pulled her closer, until she was touching his chest and had to look up directly into his eyes. 'Lets not worry about the future and just enjoy the now, yeah?', he suggested. Then…he gave her that "look".

Slowly he leaned into her ear, lips literally inches away from touching the body part. 'And then, I'll spend the night worshiping the "goddess of machines", as long as she wants', he said. Husky toned, seduction so suave and smooth, Cindy could feel her cheeks redden with and legs somehow getting shaky.

Then, he pulled away and non-chalantly walked away, like nothing happened. 'Unless you wanna just work on, that's cool, I can do a few photos here and there…'.

Cindy grabbed his arm just before he escaped him and dragged him out of the garage. 'You're buying dinner…ya dang charmer', she said, flustered.

*Lestallum*

Aurora hated the dark.

It was not uncommon that a child was scared of the darkness that the world would often be covered in at night, but for her it felt like suffocating. She had a night light sure, and Iris would always make sure it had power to keep the room alit in soft blue but there were times she felt like a coward.

Sure, her mother told her not to let what bullies and other mean kids say get to her, but she felt like a baby when they made fun of her need for a nightlight.

Aurora, in a state of mind to prove she wasn't a baby, switched off her night light tonight…and instantly regretted that very thoughtless choice.

It didn't help that the bed room light was by the door and at least requiring her to move a small chair to actually reach the blasted switch. Which she wouldn't risk because the only light that could help her even identify the door were the very dim and slim lights from below. Biting her lower lip, she ducked under the covers, whimpering in fear.

Her eyes were so heavy and she just wanted to go to sleep again, so she could enjoy the light again. But the nightmares that had scared her began to grow more frequently, it was almost every night now. The voices that spoke in broken sentences yet the words were foreign and unknown to her. They came to her like giants, armoured and ghostly like those stories uncle Gladio told them on the eve of Halloween.

She tried to keep her eyes open, but between the sleepless nights and school, exhaustion was written all over her face as despite her stubbornness to remain awake, she slowly lost her strength and fell into the darkness that was a slumber.

Aurora felt their voices drumming and vibrating in her head, like drums that echoed in a tunnel or a cave. The child tried to block out their broken voices, but it was like her hands were nothing more than thin paper, they were easy to pierce through and any attempts to try and ignore them were overpowered by their insistent noises.

She let out a scream but even her own voice was muffled, nearly muted, by their own voices. Until she cried:

'MAMA!'.

When the night has come

And the land is dark

And the moon is the only light we'll see

No, I won't be afraid

Oh, I won't be afraid

Just as long as you stand, stand by me

The broken voices disappeared, the darkness released its grip on her and the only thing she felt, was warmth.

A gentle hug that felt as if the sun was wrapping its gentle arms around her, sharing the warmth with the gentleness of what reminded her of Iris. The darkness evaporated, in its place Aurora saw herself in a field.

She saw the most beautiful flowers all around her, and the sky was bright with clear skies but instead of wanting to explore this place, Aurora just nestled into the warming embrace of the light.

If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall

Or the mountain should crumble to the sea

I won't cry, I won't cry

No, I won't shed a tear

Just as long as you stand, stand by me

The song was sung so softly but she felt the power beyond the softness. Her soul felt at ease, her fears washed away and the tiredness was welcomed by her this time, not fretted.

'Mama…?', she asked, not opening her eyes but snuggling closer to her.

'Hello Aurora', mother replied.

Her voice sounded more elegant and oddly older too, and she always referred to Aurora by her nickname most of the time. Plus her arms were more delicate and slimmer, she couldn't feel the muscle in them nor that amazing strength. But even without the strength she felt the same level of safety in those arms.

'Did you scare the monsters away?', she asked.

'Yes…your father kept them away…don't worry'.

Father?

'Papa…? Where is he?', she asked.

Then, she sighed contently when mother gently brushed her head, her hand felt so soft and gentle against her head.

'He's visiting some friends dear, he'll come soon'.

Aurora opened her eyes to see not Iris but rather…someone she didn't know, yet she felt like she knew her.

Blond hair that looked so soft and like her own, the warmest and loving blue eyes she had ever looked at. Her frame looked to be very delicate, like a swan she thought.

'…I've wanted to meet you, for so long', she said, continuing to stroke her head.

A sense of serenity and peace washed over the child instead of fear. The woman before her was not her mother, yet this feeling wasn't alien to her nor unwelcomed. It felt as if this woman was a part of her, and looking at her she looked familiar too…

'Who are you?', she asked softly.

' My name…is Lunafreya', she revealed.

Gently, she pressed her forehead against her own, hands delicately holding her cheeks as she spoke. 'Blessed are the stars, the light that once shielded the Chosen King, may it pass to the Child of Light', she prayed. Aurora felt a warmth spread through her like a river, her heart felt lighter and fears she once carried begun to slip into nothingness.

Her eyes grew heavier as she was laid upon Lunafreya's lap, looking up at her once more. 'Rest my precious', she said.

'…will you stay?', Aurora asked.

A wave of sadness fell over her as the woman's own eye grew watery and sadder. Guilt and loss begun to form in her stomach, but why she didn't know yet seeing Lunafreya's sadness hurt her. Gently she raised her small hand to her and immediately Lunafreya took hers in her own hand.

'Sweet dreams.', Lunafreya promised.

And the single tear streaked face would be the last thing Aurora saw as she fell to sleep.

Waking up in her bed, seeing the ceiling above. Aurora sat up just as the door opened up, Iris entering. 'Come on sweetheart, school's about to start in ten minutes', she said. 'Get dressed and I'll…-'.

Iris' speech ceased when she laid eyes on her daughter, a look of concerned quickly replacing her smiles. 'Aura, what's wrong?', she asked.

Aurora blinked but the felt her cheek, and then felt the tears that were spilling. Lunafreya's face flashed in her mind, that warmth and gentleness mixed with the sadness and guilt swirled in her stomach as her heart felt like it was trying to piece itself together.

Aurora then, begun to sob as her mother wrapped her arms around her.

A/N:

Sorry for the delay, and it'll be a little longer than usual for next one. I was originally going to use FF Type 0's main theme but reading the lyrics didn't do the chapter any favours so I went with the original theme.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Stay awesome, but more importantly stay safe!


	5. Chapter 5

Final Fantasy XV-2

Dawn

Chapter 4

Take a step forward, or let history repeat?

*Two years later*

Ignis had to take another breath through his nose, then exhale again through his mouth. His forehead against the wheel of his car, quiet orchestral music playing at a very low volume to stay off the silence of his car.

Once he calmed his mind and eased his nerves, Ignis exited his car and headed to elevator, exiting the underground car park. Carrying a thin case with him, he stood still as the elevator climbed the floors as the music would cut out often.

Ignis took a soft breath as his eyes scanned the slowly rebuilding city of Insomnia blessed by the sun, bathing the peerless city in a heavenly light. So far the city was being populated by both former and new occupants, many of them bringing business into their former home. Now realistically it would take many more years for Insomnia to truly return to its former glory but with it being inhabited once more and with businesses starting up again, it may not take as long as some fear.

But with the city being rebuilt, there was also the matter of government.

Ignis had received a call from the council to meet them in Insomnia just a few hours ago in regards to recent development with Niflheim and Altissia's government. Which boded ill tidings for the man, and all he had to do was think of the little girl he swore to look after for his former king.

Once he reached the top floor, he proceeded down the hallway, occasionally greeting the workers who were still re-furnishing the buildings, the fresh paint irritated his nose but he kept that to himself. Entering the meeting room, which was bare bones compared to the old days. A very long marble table that stretched so much that almost took up the entire room, several chairs that were empty due to several positions having yet to be filled up.

The original council of Insomnia consisted of twelve but as of this moment there was only seven, including Ignis, most of them were newer faces. One that Ignis truly loathed to go into the meeting with, was a much older and very traditional man, known as Vocem Mendacii. One of his majesty King Regis' oldest councillor who miraculously survived the assault all those years ago, and in his current state he was in the winter years.

Grey pepper coloured hair with a short goatee, wrinkles around his forehead, wearing an old black suit that Ignis fondly remembered Noct's old suit during the meetings. Many other councillors were unknown to Ignis, he found most of them just novices only recently appointed to these rolls, much like he was on his first day.

'My apologises for the delay', he said, sitting down in front of them.

Once everyone joined the table, Vocem spoke up. 'Now with Scientia here, we can speak of the matter at hand', he announced.

Ignis placed his suitcase beside his leg, taking out several papers that detailed the Lucian traditions and Aurora's identification papers. Looking at Vocem's brown eyes, he knew the topic would revolve around the future ruler. A discussion he hoped to stay off a little longer but like many things he had hoped for, it was for naught.

'Many of us are aware, the Nilfs have elected a new emperor two years ago, and Altissia has recently re-established their government and a prime minister', Vocem said, showing the local Lestallum papers detailing the information. 'Therefore, to protect Insomnia's independence, Scientia, it is the best time for the last of the Lucis bloodline to proceed with the coronation'.

Several voices murmured this piece of information, some eyeing Ignis in particular who remained steadfast and his facial features set in stone. Adjusting his glasses, Ignis leaned forward with his elbows resting on the table. 'Councillors, with all due respect, I thought we had all agreed, that Aurora shall take to throne when she turns sixteen, and is informed of her heritage', he sternly reminded. Vocem merely scoffed. 'The time for secrecy has ended, Scientia', he said.

'Nilfheim has already reclaimed several of its land in the past two years, even Tenebrae. And there have been reports from the Immortal they are attempting to claim several key points in Duscae'. Ignis couldn't discount those claims, many of their men had definitely reported imperil soldiers had been seen around the region and the old military bases they originally constructed in those lands had been reclaimed by them.

'However', Vocem said with a hum. With a pause, he retracted a letter from his robes and slid it across the table towards Ignis. The old advisor's eyes narrowed when he saw the imperial seal upon the envelope, the wax already broken. 'His eminence has sent this to us, as a sign of peace', he explained as Ignis opened the letter and gave it a few quick reads. His eyes darkened with each line his eyes scanned until he came to the reason behind this letter.

'A meeting between Altissia, Nilfheim and Insomnia', he mused. 'And you wish for the daughter of King Noctis to be there as a witness?'.

'This is an opportunity we cannot afford to let slip from our hands. This way, we can create peace between our nations', Vocem spoke. 'Have a care, Mendacii, the last time Insomnia welcomed the empire, we lost our home, our king and our crystal', warned Ignis. 'Are you certain that history shan't repeat itself?'.

'Do not insult me, Scientia. I was there when his majesty King Regis was murdered by betrayal', glowered the older man. 'But, this emperor has shown he, like us, wants to put that past behind us, so we can move forward into a glorious new age'.

Ignis resisted the urge to scoff at the naïve notion, partly because Vocem hadn't seen the true ugliness of the imperials. The magetek soldiers, the experimentations and the daemon infestation that nearly consumed the empire itself. This felt more like the emperor was trying to win back the love his father once possessed before his lust for power. That will be a very long battle he'll have indeed.

'Typicus has shown his willingness to make amends to Insomnia', Vocem assured. 'He is willing to relinquish Tenebrae to us, just to have this meeting between us all'.

Ignis let a deep hum rumble in his chest, mulling over that and even reading the documents with the rights to add Tenebrae to Insomnia's rule. Reclaiming this land would do wonders for the Lucian people, a new home for those in need of it, and of course allowing them to live out of the shadows of the empire. Yet his heart urged him to stay on the defence, his memories of hearing the news of his home being attacked by the bastards still clutched his chest.

Yet the concern laid with Aurora's safety. The former emperor was willing to murder the king of Insomnia in front of everyone under the guise of a peace treaty, who could say his son was above such trickery? Not to mention, they still haven't told Aurora of this…

'I…cannot say the idea of having Tenebrae under our flag is unappealing, but you must understand by revealing Aurora we will be putting her in great danger', Ignis urged.

'Then we will have her surrounded by guards or even one of the previous king's Crownsguard with her, either way she shan't be alone', Vocem said. Ignis looked at the letter, before Vocem spoke once more. 'Think on it, Scientia, a chance to make peace with the Accordians and Imperials. This will end whatever war that could resume and perhaps usher a new age of peace and glory'.

'One perhaps, King Noctis, would've wished to see fulfilled'.

Ignis lowered his head, memories of Noctis immediately washed over him. He remembers that day, when they finally rescued Prompto from Ardyn, the conversation he overheard between the two of them. That small moment, had shown the man just how much Noctis had grown, and how great of a king he would have been.

"Once this is over, I say we break down the borders- come together as one nation".

It mattered not where you come from, he said, it's who you are. Words only a wise king would say, to unite those under their banner, to show them a way to accept. Looking at this letter, the signs of a renewed nation, a chance to finally bury the hatchet…

Perhaps, even allow Aurora to rule in peace…

Ignis swallowed and took a breath before he returned his gaze to the members of the council.

'When, does he want to meet?'.

*Three days later*

'WOW! LOOK AT THAT ONE!', Forex said, pointing at a very tall building within the Crown City.

All the kids, excluding Calli and Fulgur, had their faces plastered to the window of the car, eyes alit with wonder and awe at the sheer scale of the building. Aurora let out a gasp at the building, never before had she seen a building so tall that it looked like it was touching the skies above them, wondering what would the view be like if they stood atop the building.

Inside a limousine, hired from Cindy, the kids were constantly jumping from one side of the car to the other to see the beauty and grandeur of the Crown City. Understandingly, seeing as the buildings back in Lestallum and Galdin Quay were barely half the size of the buildings here, the construction of these buildings alone held their gazes for as long as they could lend. When the setting sun glistened upon them they shined so bright like crystals.

In the front seats of the limousine, Iris and Prompto, the latter in his old Kingsglaive uniform, taking the wheel as he kept his eyes fully fixed on the roads ahead of him. True the traffic was near non-existent with a few fellow guards patrolling the place and the occasional construction worker vehicle just by passing them, but he refused to keep his eyes off the road. It helped distract him from the grip of apprehension that gripped his heart.

This felt like a calm before a massive storm to him, and maybe this was speaking from past experiences, welcoming back the empire into their home felt like déjà vu.

'Gladdy's waiting for us at the Citadel', Iris said, putting her phone back into her pocket. 'Says the emperor had just arrived'.

'Great to hear', Prompto commented, trying to hold back the scepticism.

Evidently he didn't do a great job, as from the corner of his eyes, he spotted a frown upon Iris' face. Occasionally he sees her turn her head to see the kids in the back, blissfully unaware of what the true reason they came here for. Aurora was still unaware of why she was coming to Citadel; heck this was her very first time ENTERING the old home of Lucis. Prompto didn't blame that parent worry, hell he couldn't stop gritting his teeth when he thought of Vitae's safety.

'Any word from Ignis?', he asked, hoping to distract himself long enough.

'He says he and Cor are going to be locking the Throne Room away for now, and they're organizing the council room', Iris explained.

'Good…', Prompto said.

The old throne room of the Kings…Six above Prompto could still remember that day like it was just yesterday, the day where they brought back the light but in turn he lost his best friend. Hands tightening around the wheel, memories of Noctis' face when he bid his brothers their last farewell. That look of pride, gratitude and remorse, all mixed into one. Even when his body was removed and taken to his own tomb, Prompto couldn't muster his will to even walk in after Aurora was born.

Too many memories that overwhelmed him, too much sadness that threatened to choke out his tears.

It was only when he felt a pat on his shoulder did he break out of his musings and slightly turned to see his son. Worry itched on his face, he seemingly lost all interest in the buildings and just looked at his father. Warmth from his son's concern, Prompto mustered a smile and gently patted his head in gratitude. 'Sorry kiddo, just…overwhelmed', he half lied. 'Being home after all these years kinda does something to ya'.

Seemingly appeased by this response, Vitae grinned and returned to his friends. Iris looked at the blond with a small smile.

'And here we are', Prompto announced.

Pulling up right below the steps, Prompto and company exited the vehicle and stood before the stairs. 'Took your sweet time, didn't ya?', Gladio asked, climbing down the stairs in his own uniform too. The only thing different was his large great sword strapped to his back, since the Lucis magic had long left the party after Noctis' passing. Prompto didn't like the idea that the weapon was in plain view for all to see, it took the advantage of surprise from Gladio for sure. Just as well guns were easier to hide…

His kids however looked at their father with awe. 'WHOA! DAD LOOKS SO COOL!', Ferox commented, looking at her dad with sparkles in her eyes. Gladio chuckled and ruffled their hairs lovingly, earning giggles them. 'See? Your old man can still look badass', he said. Iris rolled her eyes at the last word, wishing his tendencies to swear would have receded once his kids were born, but alas, some things never change.

'So, is that prime minister here yet?', Prompto asked. Gladio's fatherly looks changed, back to his "Shield" look and almost immediately Iris saw her brother as he was when he served Noctis. Eyes sharpened and brows furrowed. 'Yeah, he's waiting inside with Typicus', Gladio stated. 'We've just been waiting for…'. His looks faltered and his speech halted. Prompto looked subtly at Aurora, who still had her eyes fixed on the palace in awe. The two glanced at Iris, who was biting her inner cheek, eyes fixated on her daughter.

Conflict was bright in her eyes, the lie she kept on for so long was about to lose some of its layers and her child would be another step closer to the truth. A truth she had feared would come to light in time. And the faint rays of light will break through the cloud of lies today.

As if sensing her worries, Prompto clapped his hands. 'Okay kids! Whose ready to explore the castle?', he asked, putting on his bright grins. The more excited kids bounced and the more reserved grinned excitedly at this offer, choirs of "Me, I do and yay's" ruled the sound at the moment. 'Awesome, just follow me and I'll show ya all of the Citadel's secrets~', he promised. Gladio and Iris gave him a nod of gratitude as the blond led the kids away, with the exception of Aurora.

Before the child followed, Iris placed a hand on her shoulder. Turning to her mother, the girl pouted. 'I'm sorry sweetie, but, you have to come with me and uncle Gladdy for a while', she said. Aurora blinked and looked at the other kids, equally confused. 'It's just, there's a few people I want you to meet', she explained.

'Who? And why can't the others come?', she asked. 'They wanted to meet you, and there'd be no room for everyone', Gladio said, keeping on that fatherly smile. Aurora looked at him with confusion, but in the end, she relented. Prompto knelt down and gently gripped her shoulders, getting her attention. 'Don't ya worry kiddo, I'll put the tour on hold until we get ya back', he said with a grin.

'Promise?', Aurora asked.

Prompto held out his pinkie finger, and with that, Aurora beamed and took his with her own, and they shook it. 'Promise', the gunner said. With that resolved, Prompto guided the kids to one of the guest rooms until they can continue the tour while Gladio led his sister and niece inside.

Inside the main building, Aurora looked around the palace with eyes wide as dinner plates in awe. Despite how dark the place was she felt a sense of calm and warmth wash over her, her shoes clicked and clacked upon the tiles that echoed in the palace, gentle music playing over them. Her hand was clutched within her mother's gentle but firm hold, but she would occasionally feel her grip tighten. She looked up occasionally at her with worry but she kept her eyes forward.

Then, she felt someone watching. Turning to her left, she spotted a little boy sitting on a chair. He simply waved at her with a smile, and in turn, shyly, she replicated his action. Raven hair with the prettiest blue eyes she had ever seen, but they looked familiar to her…

'Sweetie?', Iris called out. It was only then Aurora realized she stopped to wave at the boy. 'What's wrong?', Iris asked.

'I was saying "hi" mama', she said.

'To who?'.

'Him'.

She pointed but when she looked again, the chair was empty. Not a trace of the boy remained, the chair itself looked untouched for days. It's a new chair she saw, based on the quality of the chair and cleanliness of it.

'Sweetie, there is no one there', Iris said, concern in her voice.

'B-But there was! A little boy, black hair, and the prettiest blue eyes ever!', Aurora said with determination.

Gladio had stopped his march to turn to see the two stopping their pace. He approached them both with worry, but it only got worse when Aurora told him the same thing she told her mother. 'Kiddo, there is no one else here', assured the giant.

'There was! I know there was someone else there!', persisted the child.

Gladio would just brush it off if the Citadel was open to the public or rather if it was one of theirs, but no. He knew, Ignis knew, they all knew everyone who'd be here and they ensured this would be a secret meeting. Plus, Aurora's description immediately summoned Noctis in his mind, he wouldn't forget that little pipsqueak no matter how many years had passed.

'…come on', he said, turning to resume his march. He truly didn't want to think about Noctis now, especially when they have their former enemies back in their home again, and with the fears of the outcome looming over their heads.

Aurora would peek behind to see if the boy was watching her again but she saw naught but the empty halls.

*Council Room*

Reaching the room via elevator, Aurora gently gripped her mother's leg, hiding behind her when they reached the door. Gladio entered first and allowed them the family inside. Inside the sunlight shined through the window, brightening the room in a soft light. A brown mahogany round table in the centre of the room with plenty of chairs. There men inside the room, four of them wore similar clothes to Gladio, stationed by one door leading into a different section of the palace and he door they entered.

The first man Aurora saw was a young man, younger than her uncles that's for certain. Soft silvery platinum hair that looked well cared for that reached below his shoulders, wearing a white suit with red shoulder pads with the imperial insignia upon his left breast. Dark green eyes, alit with cunning and wisdom. Typicus Aldercapt, the emperor of Niflheim.

The other man, Gladio presumed, to be the prime minister of Altissia, Hyacinthum Anguis. Wearing a grey and brown suit, a royal crest attached to his chest like a medal. He appeared to be quite old, greying hair receding upon his scalp, a grey goatee with grey blue/green eyes.

Vocem and several other members of the council were awaiting there, the former eyed the future ruler in particular.

Gladio stood forward as the emperor and minister stood before them. 'Gladiolus Amicitia, I presume?', Typicus inquired. Gladio, swallowing is bitterness towards his enemy, nodded. 'Yes, and this is my sister, Iris', he introduced. Iris nodded to the emperor but refused to budge, nor would she move from Aurora's side. Her eyes fixed on the emperor, concealed disdain and distrust for him.

Typicus turned her eyes to the little girl, who immediately ran behind her mother's legs. Iris placed a comforting hand on her daughter's back kindly and protectively. 'And she is?', he asked. Gladio folded his arms, conflicted immediately. However, one more glance to his niece, he returned his gaze back to Typicus. 'Her daughter, Aurora Amicitia', he answered. Behind him, the little girl smiled brightly.

The emperor gave the giant a look of scepticism, before he scoffed. 'And hiring a sitter was out of the question?', he asked, sarcasm clear.

Gladio spotted Vocem's irritated look, no doubt he expected Gladio to tell the emperor who the child really belonged to. But the emperor being here did nothing to elevate his worries, if anything he just felt his hand twitch for his sword.

Typicus sighed and left the man, returning to look outside the window while waiting for the others to arrive.

'This is too risky', Cor commented stiffly, watching Ignis finish the last touch to the meeting room.

'You're not the first to say that', Ignis replied.

Cor scoffed, eyes fixed on the door that would led them to the meeting room where everyone gathered. Cor had certainly aged well Ignis noticed, hair gone completely grey with many wrinkles adorned his forehead, his small beard turned to the colour of ash. He wore a black trench coat made of the same material to his original uniform, a skull motif on the back while his old katana was strapped to his left hip.

The Immortal had voiced his objection to the idea of exposing Aurora to the empire at such a young age, but his voice only reached her uncles and mother for the most part. Many of the councillors had sided with Vocem over him, and even Ignis may have voiced his disdain for it but for his former king, he went with it.

Cor merely attended out of respect for his deceased king and out of loyalty to Ignis' and company. 'Surprised you called me to attend, worried about what'll unfold?', he asked. 'Adding mind reading to your legend, are you?', remarked the spectacled man.

Cor let out a dry chuckle in response to that little jab, turning to his friend as Ignis pushed his glasses up slightly. 'But yes, it's best to have more allies than enemies in one spot'. 'You really think an old man would even cause the enemy to flinch?', asked Cor with a raised brow.

'I've seen your sparring sessions with Gladio and the new recruits. Old or young, you're still quite the ferocious warrior', Ignis said. 'And we have very few capable warriors lately'. Cor hummed in response, pushing himself off the wall and rolling his shoulders. 'A true statement, and an unfortunate one'.

Before Ignis could retort, his phone vibrated.

Muttering an "excuse me", he plucked the device out of his breast pocket, he opened it and answered. 'Scientia', he said, formally. Cor was humming away while his friend was answering the call, his eyes looking to the clear skies above as the sun slowly begun its descent.

But then…

'What do you- wait, that's impossible-

Cor turned to see a very pale and alarmed Ignis standing as still as the muffled voice of the caller still spoke to him. The advisor shook out of his stupor and immediately hung up on the caller, thumbs rapidly tapping away.

He placed the phone to his ear and began to jog, grabbing Cor with him. 'Prompto! The kids, are they safe!?', he asked. Cor could barely hear Prompto's confused reply as he almost tripped over with Ignis practically carrying him out of the room. 'Make sure they stay in that room, have the guards there at all times and get to the meeting room, RIGHT now!', he ordered.

Cor's own eyes widened…

Gladio tapped his arm with one finger, patience slowly running thinner and thinner with each passing minute. Amber eyes were trained on the two guests, who were mostly minding their own business while Aurora, still clutching her mother's leg, kept peering up at her and occasionally looked at Typicus.

Iris would occasionally glance at her brother with worry, often sending him questions through silence. Questions the giant was asking too, namely what was taking Ignis so long. And her most common question, when could she take Aurora from this room?

'Are we going to wait much longer?', Typicus asked. 'I hate to come across as rude, but many of us have a great deal of work to be done'. Gladio gave the emperor look and a shrug. 'Apologises for this, my fellow Kingsglaive is usually on time', he said. "And he wouldn't leave me hanging like this", he added mentally.

'This is ridiculous', Hyacinthum grunted.

'Patience, prime minister', Typicus. 'You heard the glaive, perhaps something came up?'.

Gladio turned to see his niece tugging her mother's pants, insistently. Iris turned her head to her and through a quiet conversation, she turned to Gladio. 'Aurora's getting antsy, is it alright if we go?', she asked. Gladio looked at the others before returning to his sister again, with a curt nod. 'Sure, I don't see why-

'Sorry I'm late!'.

Prompto simply burst into the room, the same door Gladio and co had entered. The blond panted tiredly, hands on his knees and body hunched over. In taking a breath, he stood up proper and with that friendly smile, walked towards Gladio.

'And who is this?', Hyacinthum, patience drawing to an end.

'Prompto, Kingsglaive and proud dad', introduced the blond with a grin. 'I've a message for Gladiolus, courtesy of Ignis'.

Gladio looked at him with a look as Prompto handed him a phone. 'Some kind of message, said you'd knew what he meant', he explained. Now that his face was safe from prying eyes, Gladio could see the look of alarm on his face as he showed him the phone message.

"Get Iris and Aurora out of there, NOW".

Gladio nodded. 'Sorry everyone, but I have to take my sister and niece home', he said, casually. Iris gave a questioning stare before he pushed her along to the exit…only for the guards to block their way.

'Why leave so soon?'.

Gladio and Prompto immediately turned to Typicus, back against them as he stared outside the window. 'I don't think we were properly introduced to your princess'. The glaives' blood froze upon those words, Gladio stepping in front of Iris and Aurora, the latter hiding behind her mother. Typicus turned to them with a smug look. 'Did you truly think I believed that child was brought here because of a minor inconvenience?'.

Gladio growled as the members of the council begun to stand up, Hyacinthum joined the emperor's side. 'Gladiolus, hand over the child', Vocem ordered. 'What the hell are you doing Vocem?', the shield growled.

'Whatever it takes', the old man said coolly.

'Mom, what's going on?', the child squeaked, fearfully.

Iris pulled her closer to herself. 'You will hand over the princess, by order of the council', Vocem demanded. Gladio grabbed his great sword, before he gave Prompto a quick nod. The blond smirked.

'COVER YOUR EYES!', he shouted.

Quickly, Prompto pulled out his revolver and shot a single "Starshell" that immediately blinded the turn coats and the guards behind them, which gave Gladio the opportunity to brandish his greatsword. Using the flat surface of the sword and yelling "GET DOWN", he bashed aside the two traitorous guards aside. 'GO!', he ordered.

The company of four, Iris carrying her daughter, ran outside of the room.

History had begun to repeat after all…

A/N: We're getting into the meat(?) of the story at last! Apologises for delay, but here it is!

Please leave a review on where I can improve or what you think of this story, really helps! As always, stay awesome but more importantly stay safe!


	6. Chapter 6

Final Fantasy XV-2

Dawn

Chapter 5

Warrior of Light

There have been many times Prompto felt genuine terror, and not the meek apprehensive fear when going up a rather nasty looking monster or when Noctis would brush concerns aside just to show off.

This was certainly one of those times.

Running down the corridor with Gladio and the others, abandoning the Nilfheim emperor and his cronies. Gun held out as he trailed behind the party, occasionally looking over his shoulder to see if they were being chased by them. His heart hammered wildly, fear coursed through him as all sorts of horrible ideas came to flood his mind.

The two guards were nothing but sell-outs, traitors that no doubt must've been planted by the emperor himself. Yet his mind ran wild with worry, who was to say those were the only ones that were disguised as guards for them? Vitae and the other children could be in danger.

'Ignis! God damn it, answer!', Gladio growled as he hung up his phone.

'Where is specs when we need him?', Prompto cursed, as they descended down the stairs and headed for the council room.

His answer came in the form of inhuman yells. Before them were to the two glaives shock were a set of magitek soldiers. Clearly though they've been upgraded, no longer with the green mutant looking faces, instead they were grey as steel with piercing robotic red eyes that glowed. Heavy pauldrens that looked the size of Gladio's head, limbs armoured with black and red steel with spikes around the knees and elbows. Each of them carried long dual edged swords and axes alike.

The moment their empty eyes fell upon them, three of them charged forward, arms dangling behind them. Gladio, without hesitation, leapt before the group with a swipe of his sword. Easily cleaving them in half as Prompto took one shot at them, his bullet flying and piercing right between the eyes of another. Aurora let out a scream of terror, burying herself into her mother to hide her eyes.

'Prompto, get them out of here!', Gladio ordered, evading a wild stroke from the machine man.

Gladio then brought his great sword down and crushed the magitek soldier, shaking the ground around them as he turned and with one thrust, plunged the sword through two. Prompto grunted, looking between Iris and Gladio before he nodded. 'Ok, I'll grab the kids and we'll make a run for it out of the Citadel!', he said, pushing Iris to the stairs that led further down.

'Make sure you come back alive big guy!', Prompto ordered.

Gladio gave his friend a chuckle as they left him to what he did best. As the magitek soldiers' eyes fell to the running pair, Gladio quickly demolished another with a roar. He stood at the stairs, great sword hunched on his shoulder as his amber coloured eyes were alit with fire. 'You want them? You're gonna have to bring a damn army!', Gladio bellowed. Gladio gripped his blade with both hands as his stance shifted into a more aggressive one, the blue light glowed on the sword just like it did after his trial.

"Don't worry Noct", he thought. "You're kid isn't gonna die here".

A combination of guilt and rage boiled within Gladio's heart, he put his king's, his brother's daughter in danger. Careless of himself, he berated how he didn't see through the guise of the emperor or how he didn't let Iris leave sooner. Not again though, he snarled at the magiteks that ran towards him. Insomnia had the pain and sadness of being the final resting place of Regis and Noctis, and he'll be damned if he lets a third Lucis die here.

*?*

Light as a feather, serene and at peace.

Weightless and blissfully unaware of all around, yet safe and secure.

'Hey, mind if I ask a favour?', his voice called, soft but shy.

'What?', they ask, patient.

'Its…nah, forget it'.

'No, you can't do that. Now I'm very curious'.

He sighs good naturedly, running a hand through his hair. In this space and time, despite the years they had spent, they were surprised he still had difficulty opening up them. He turned to them with a look, one they knew was reserved for those he trusted above all else.

'I need you to keep her safe', he asks. 'From everyone or anything that wants to hurt her'.

'The child of Light?', they asked.

'Yeah…', he said sadly.

'She has friends and family to shield her from the darkness, just as you did', they reminded.

'I know…and I know specs and the others will go above and beyond to make sure she grows to be a queen greater then I would be king. But, the things to come', he murmured but his voice grows softer and weaker with each syllabi.

'How could I? I am bound to this place, it is a part of me as the ring is to you', they asked.

He chuckles softly, it was a lovely sound they agree. 'Trust me, there will be a way for you to leave here. But when you do…can you promise me you'll protect her?'.

The trust he displayed for them, it touched what they presume was a heart, a warmth unlike anything this place could grant them. The duty that would be upon them would be much to bear…

'…If it will help…'.

*Citadel*

Quickly, the two parents ran down the hallway that would lead them to the kids, Prompto had to reel himself to ensure he didn't leave the two behind in a panic. As much as he wanted to simply run through with all the speed his aging legs could give him to see his son safe, he still had his niece to protect.

Finally, they reached the room and Prompto all but kicked the door off its hinges in his speed, leaping in to find them.

Yet all he found was an empty destroyed room.

Eyes widened with terror as he looked among the carnage, furniture destroyed with signs of a struggle, and worst of all he spotted a trail of blood that reached the door frame. His blood ran cold as hundreds of scenarios ran through his mind, hands shook with fear. Could the guards that were assigned to this room been traitors too? Or did they try to protect them from the imperials?

He looked to see an equally terrified Iris, who refused to let Aurora see the blood, holding his close to her chest with her face firmly pressed against her shoulder. Prompto began to pace in his spot, hand against his forehead as his breathing started to quicken. "Astrals…Astrals please, don't let the empire take my son from me…", he mentally prayed. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and with a frustrated yell, flipped a table aside.

He earned a small yelp of fear from Aurora and a gasp from Iris, his cool was starting to diminish as was his grip on his emotions. The mother couldn't blame him, she was barely holding it together herself and only had more control because her daughter was in her arms, safe. Prompto let out a grunt before he steadied himself using a chair, his body shaking. 'Prom…', Iris said slowly, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

He didn't look at her but he didn't shrug off her kind gesture, which was a relief to the mother. 'M-Maybe Iggy got here first, or Cor', she offered. It wasn't necessarily an impossibility but it considering Ignis hasn't responded to their calls it felt like a dying hope than anything else. Prompto let out a shaky breath, looking like he was trying to hold himself together as he stood up properly. Turning to his family, he quickly led them out of the room.

Finally, his phone beeped. Quicker than a chocobo on ice, Prompto yanked his phone from his pocket and answered. 'Iggy?', he asked, walking onwards.

'Prompto! Thank the Six, I thought I lost you', replied his brother, relief in his tone. 'Where are you?'.

'I'm with Iris and Aurora! Iggy, the kids! They're not in the room!', Prompto said, getting to the point.

He heard a heavy curse from the other side of the line along with the sounds of battle, accompanied by gunfire. 'Prompto! Take Iris and Aurora to the throne room and hold up until we arrive! I'm already searching for Fulgur and the others!', ordered Iggy.

'Iggy, we hole up in there we're sitting ducks!', Prompto said, stopping his march.

'It's too dangerous to drive out of the Citadel, Prompto! The empire has dreadnaughts closing in on the building, you'll be demolished if you take a car!', Ignis warned. 'Take them to throne room and bar the doors!'.

He hung up before Prompto could argue, making the blond groan. However, once he was by a window, his friend's warning did hold merit when he saw the old ships from the past shadow the Citadel, slowly approaching with reinforcements or worse. Looking at Iris, who was clutching Aurora as tightly as she could with steely determination, Prompto nodded. 'Stay close to me', he instructed.

Turning back to the way they originally came, Prompto and Iris climbed the stairs once more. The top floor was not much farther than he worried, two more floors remaining anyways. They climbed up until they reached the second last floor but before they could round the corner to the next flight of stairs, Prompto suddenly grabbed Iris and yanked her back. A single blade chopped into the wooden rail of the stairs, stuck. Prompto took a single shot to the owner of the blade and added an empty socked to its mechanical head.

'Stay here!', he ordered.

Prompto climbed the stairs to see a massive amount of magitek soldiers slowly approaching them. Must have arrived as backup he thought to himself. He turned to Iris. 'I'll handle these jokers, you get going to the throne room!', he said.

'Prompto-

'No buts!', he said, his voice showing that rare sense of determination and strictness. He looked at Aurora with a gentler look, giving her a smile. 'You've got the kiddo, I've got this', he said. Iris opened her mouth to protest but slowly she closed her lips. He didn't know what it was she was looking at, but it was enough for her to trust his confidence and she readied to run. Quickly he turned and fired at least three bullets at the soldiers, hitting most of them in the right spots to rid himself a few.

While he fired, Iris ran around and up the stairs, just as the soldiers closed on them. But none managed to even touch the first step of the stairs, Prompto fired the remains of the first round of his gun and put the closest ones down first. Quickly reloading his revolver, Prompto aimed at the enemy. 'Sorry guys, that floor is off limits! Staff members and royalty only!', he said with a cocky grin.

Two soldiers ran at him, each wielding an axe. Prompto rolled underneath their swing, landing behind them. He shot one in the back of its metal head and once it dropped its axe, the blond glaive grabbed its axe and cleaved the other one just as it turned on him. Prompto then turned around and fired two more bullets at the group, hitting one in its eye but only grazed another's arm. Prompto cursed as he looked to his left in time to clumsily dodge another attack from a sword.

Landing on his side, he quickly rolled away and as he stood up, he fired one shot at his offending attacker. This time the bullet tore through its elbow, breaking the mechanical joints and severing the limb. Prompto then did a kick to the mechanical warrior, sending it tumbling over the banister and falling hopefully a few floors below him.

He rolled to his left when he spotted from the corner of his eye another soldier was aiming for his neck. Just barely scratching his neck to draw a smidgen of blood, but that was the only victory the glaive would give the machine. On one knee, Prompto took a shot and hit the soldier in the neck joints, breaking enough for the head's weight to break the flimsy remaining foundations and tumble off the body.

His gun clicking, Prompto ran a hand through his pockets for ammunition…to find none. Panic quickly clutched his heart as he looked down in dismay to find he was out of ammo.

It seemed the soldiers sensed his distress as they now suddenly began to charge towards him. But Prompto quickly pulled out one of those old imperial grenades he used years ago. While not the overall same design as previous, his wife made a much better version of it, and better it was. He tossed it and leapt backwards just as the device landed in the middle of the horde.

Seconds later, a large electromagnetic ball covered at least nearly all the soldiers there, a violet dense fog of lightning shadowed them all as the stood rigid, lightning dancing around their metal forms. Once the lightning ceased, the soldiers that were hit by it, all collapsed into lumps of metal, with only two remaining. Prompto wasted no time, he ran towards the machines, plucking the axes their carried and with a yell, he cleaved one in half by slicing its waist and then crushed the head of another.

Panting, the blond dropped the weapons once he was sure the soldiers were no longer functioning, then placed his hands on his knees and bent over to catch his breath. It had been so long since he ran this much and combined with fighting for his life, he never felt so winded since the final fight with Ardyn all those years ago.

'I'm getting too old for this crap', he chuckled weakly, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He stood up properly and begun to inspect the soldiers in the hopes of finding some ammunition or other firearms. Much to his dismay he found they carried nothing that could be used proficiently by himself, save for one or two grenades. As helpful as they were, anyone with a brain would know just having grenades on your person wasn't much of advantage.

Prompto, with great reluctance, had to move on though. But before he could, he looked down to see a red dot upon his chest. With a shocked cry, Prompto rolled aside just as a loud "boom" like sound echoed in the empty halls. A whistling sound tickled his ears as the large window at the end of the hall way suddenly smashed to pieces behind him. Hiding behind a wall, Prompto pressed himself against it as he collected his thoughts, sweat racing down his forehead.

Slowly and as careful as he could, he peered to see if the shooter was in sight but all he saw was an empty corridor before him. Puzzled, the blond looked at where the shot flew to and could see little remained on the window frame save for one or two shards of glass, the rest spilled on the floor. Prompto grunted as he risked it all and made a dash for the stairs, needing to get out of the hall before his killer made another shot. He reached the stairs and made a mad run up them.

Yet no sooner did he reach the next floor, a barrage of bullets flew at him just before his feet could stand over the stairs. Prompto ducked behind the banister, bullets whizzing above him. But then, they suddenly stopped. The smells of smoke and gunfire filled the air, and it only made the glaive feel apprehension when he gripped for his empty gun, making him realize just how out-matched he was in his current predicament.

He reached his grenade and took a breath, he was about to take a big risk but he needed to keep moving. Prompto tossed the grenade in the direction of the bullets came from and then ducked behind cover again, placing both hands against his ears and keeping his head low. The explosion was a more powerful type compared to Cindy's except it only demolished the area, and Prompto was fairly certain if anyone actually claimed ownership of this place he'd was certain he'd be in debt for the next seven generations.

When the explosion was over, he peeked to see naught but smoke. Hoping he took out his assailant, Prompto made his way. The stairs sadly ended here and the next flight were on the other end of the corridor, and a part of him prayed he didn't just destroy the structure of the steps.

That was the least of his problems.

Suddenly, he fell forward with a grunt. He turned himself to see his legs were wrapped in some form of wire all the way from his feet to his thighs. Then as if that wasn't enough, the blond was then pulled with immeasurable strength and speed all the way down the corridor. He struggled and tried to grab for something to stop this unwanted journey but the wires pulled him too fast for him to do anything but touch things to grab.

He was pulled right through the glass doorway and he fell right into the old royal gardens. With a heavy thud, Prompto slammed onto the muddy withered ground with a crack. Prompto let out a gasp of pain, his uniform was torn from the glass, pain erupted around his arms in particular. Looking at them, he found several tears in the uniform and the colour was darkening with red, plus his head rang and he felt the trickling of blood rush down from his forehead.

Yet to his relief the wires wrapped around his legs loosened and were easy to remove from his limbs. Prompto tore them off and attempted to stand but he fell on his knee, gasping and grunting with pain. He looked and found his right leg was embedded by a shard of glass, he must have fallen on it. Prompto forced himself to remove the shard, carefully grabbing it with his thumb and finger. Despite the difficulty of the blood making his fingers slicker, the blond managed to pry the shard out far enough to use all of his hand to remove it.

Tossing the red glossed glass aside, Prompto hobbled over to the old fountain. He used to stable himself, giving him time to inspect himself. His leg was aching with pain, any weight put on it was a sure ticket to painsvile, his arms stung but he felt no real damage was done to them to the point of being unusable thankfully. His head felt heavy and the cut was beginning to hurt. Looking behind him, the blond felt his morale drop when he saw how far he fell, at least two floors.

'What I wouldn't give for pair of wings', he groaned.

But his flight would have to wait, because Prompto turned to see the sniper perched upon one of the old pillars. The gender was hard to determine due to the armour but Prompto knew they weren't a magitek, their armour looked more human fitted. Their headset was certainly worth his attention, as it was outfitted with an impressive goggles, three scopes upon their forehead in three sizes like a camera.

Also their gun looked worrisome he found.

The sniper leapt down and a few steps before him, helmet hiding their face. Prompto felt for the grenade in his pocket, knowing it'd be close but if he could toss it at the right moment, he could escape from them.

Yet this was not to be…

Suddenly the sniper pulled out a revolver from their hip and fired directly into his left knee. Prompto let out an agonizing scream, falling on to his side as the blood seeped from his wound and onto the ruined pathways.

The gunner tossed the revolver aside, and approached Prompto, as he clutched his leg, cursing and gritting his teeth. Despite the searing pain, he managed to glare defiantly at the sniper, currently training their gun at him.

Sweat ran down his forehead, throat tightening as millions of thoughts and memories rushed through his mind, realizing this was his final moment. His fist clenched, mustering up his courage to face his demise with pride, Prompto gave his killer one final glare as the gun cocked…

*BANG*

And down went the sniper with a heavy thud. Behind them, was a shaken Vitae carrying the same revolver that took Prompto's leg. His skin pale as milk as his shoulders shook with shock, the gun slipped through his shaking hands and landed with a clatter to the ground.

Prompto let out a breath of relief as he struggled to get back to his feet, but the pain and adrenaline wearing off was too much for him, body wrecked with fatigue. Vitae however ran to his dad and knelt before him. The boy looked close to crying, whether it was seeing his father in such a bad state or the fact he just shot someone, Prompto wasn't sure. He shakily held his father but Prompto pulled him into a tight hug.

'Prompto!'.

He looked to see Gladio racing towards him, the old guard no better looking than he. His uniform was in tatters and practically destroyed, his torso completely exposed with only a shred of cloth around his left shoulder and arm, pants thankfully faired better. But Prompto spotted a new deep cut upon his left bicep, bleeding but nothing vital, a fresh cut on the shoulder too.

Immediately seeing his friend's leg, Gladio quickly knelt down to inspect it. 'Shit, this doesn't look good', he grunted. 'Gonna take a lot more than a potion'.

Prompto waved him off regardless, turning to his son. 'Vitae, where are the other kids?'. At this, Gladio looked at the boy, his eyes concealing his worry when he realized none of his daughters were with him. The boy gulped before he spoke. 'W-We heard gunshots from upstairs, but the adults wouldn't let us out'.

'Did they say why?', Gladio asked.

'No, but Fulgur said their accent was off and he didn't recognize them', he added.

Prompto wouldn't put it past Ignis to allow his son to see who he'd employ or interview for the guard duty. After all it would help teach Fulgur how to memorize people or teach him how to look out for dangerous people. 'So what did he say?', Gladio inquired.

Vitae then pulled out an old Lucian key, despite the design looking by-gone Prompto could see it was still in perfect condition. 'He showed us a secret door in that room, saying Ignis choose that room specifically for us', he said. Although the fathers were relieved that Ignis would think ahead and had a secret way for the kids to be safe, it still perplexed Prompto why he wasn't informed of this. But regardless, Prompto had other concerns.

'Well, where are they?'.

*Throne Room*

Iris had no memory of the throne room despite her many visitations to the Citadel, which are plentiful, but entering here, it felt like she was entering sacred grounds.

The room was in such pristine condition, no doubt due to the maids Ignis hired for this specific room, even the throne looked like how Gladio used to describe it to her all those years ago. Thankfully the two managed to get to this point without being attacked by the empire's forces, and no sooner did she made sure Aurora was safe, she used whatever she could to barricade the doors. Mannequins of armour, old weapons and any movable furniture would slow them.

Panting, the adrenaline finally wearing off and after running at least four flights of stairs up, Iris all but collapsed against a wall and slid down to rest. Sweating and lungs burning, she berated herself for not bringing a weapon to defend herself and Aurora.

Speaking of which…

She turned to see her daughter staring at the old monument below where the throne rested, hand pressed against the marble. Iris slowly stood back up, though wearily, and joined her daughter. The child hadn't moved from her spot, eyes keenly fixed on the etchings on the stone. Iris' own eyes watered when she sees what it is that held her daughter's attention.

'Noctis…Lucis Caelum the CXIV…?', Aurora said aloud.

Hearing the name of her daughter's father on her lips sounded so loving but heart wrenching at the same time. But that wasn't the end.

'Mama…who was he?', she asked.

Iris turned to meet her own daughter's eyes, alit with confusion and sadness. 'Why is all this happening? And why are those people after me?', she asked. Iris' own eyes darkened as she clutched her arm, her heart raced with terror as Aurora's eyes bore into her like she was staring into the ocean of secrets her mother had kept from her all these years. 'They called me "princess", why? Am I a princess?', she persisted.

'Aurora…', Iris tried but the child stepped forward, her eyes watery as if Iris' hesitation was physically breaking her heart. 'WHO AM I!?', she cried. 'WHO WAS MY FATHER!? ARE YOU…!'.

Iris felt her heart wrench and stomach warp in pain, her own eyes felt moist and almost ready to allow the dam break. Yet Aurora's questions ceased when she unclenched her fists and the fire in her eyes were doused with genuine fear, as if she didn't want to know the answer to that question that was on the tip of her tongue.

'A-are…you even my mama…?', she whimpered.

The throne room had never been so silent, not even the passing of Noctis' could rival this. Iris felt all the breath she had just regained escape her and a numbness washed over her unlike anything she had ever experienced. Her heart shattered to pieces at this question, one she had prayed, pleaded and begged to never be uttered by Aurora, one Iris knew she could not answer without lying to her or breaking her own little heart.

Aurora seemed to take her own silence as a sign as she wrapped her little arms around herself, shaking as the tears ran down her cheeks uncontrollably. Iris felt her own eyes leak out her sadness, looking down at the marble floor in misery.

'…Your father, is Noctis Lucis Caelum'.

Aurora looked up at her mother, a little gasp escaped her when she saw her mother's tears running down her cheeks but she was smiling in such a heart breaking way. 'He was the prince of this city, but he gave his life, so save everyone from the Starscourge', she explained. Sniffling, Iris wiped the tears from her eyes in a vain attempt to compose herself. Aurora remembered Ignis' lessons about that incident, history lesson he was adamant to give.

Aurora was amazed Clavam and Fulgur were around that time, but they both looked so sad whenever it was brought up. Her memory managed re-collect a little bit of what her uncle said, that the sun was non-existent and there were daemons all over the place, and it was because of a brave man the light was restored to the world at a terrible cost. Her mother told her she was born at the end of the scourge.

'You…you were a gift from the Astrals, born from Noctis…and Lunafreya Nox Fluent', Iris said, but with each secret unveiled Aurora could hear the pain her mother was suffering from, to the point where she approached her. Tearfully she gave her a pleading look, as if begging her to stop but Iris just smiled sadly and continued, regardless of the pain.

'You were gifted to your uncles by the Messenger of the Astrals, and they, they wanted to let you have a life outside being a princess…but the council wanted to announce you to the world in order to establish a government, and let Insomnia have a ruler again'.

Iris hiccupped and choked back the sobs, kneeling down hug her daughter. 'B-But we wanted to let you have a normal safe and happy childhood, until those nightmares got worse', she said. Aurora placed her head upon her mother's shoulder, the words that filled her mind. 'I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry I lied to you…', Iris cried.

She broke the hug to face her daughter, *her* daughter, with a look that Aurora had never seen before. It intense, strong and fierce but sheltering a warmth and love she knew in her heart only her mother could show her.

'I love you, as my daughter. No matter whose blood made you, I want you to believe me when I say I loved you the very moment I met you', she promised.

No trace of a lie in her amber eyes, even tear stained cheeks just showed the pain but Aurora felt a surge of warm radiating in her heart, unlike any other feeling she could remember.

Suddenly the mother quickly grabbed her and turn around so that her back faced the door as she clutched Aurora in a cocoon like form. The doors exploded open, the objects barricading the door flew off into pieces as the smoke leaked into throne room. Iris shot back up to her feet and kept her daughter behind her, eyes steeled.

Typicus entered the room, followed closely by his magitek soldiers and Vocem. 'Ah, there you are', he said with a smug tone matching his face. Aurora hid herself behind Iris, the mother glared at him with disdain. 'Ah ah', he said, raising a hand and instantly the soldiers had their rifles trained on the two, particularly Iris. 'One false step my dear, and that child will become an orphan', he warned in a malicious tone that was attempting to guise as sympathy.

It only made her skin crawl with disgust.

'Now then, hand over the princess and you'll be spared', he said dismissively, as if waiting for a coffee.

'Over my dead body', Iris seethed.

'Iris see reason behind this!', Vocem said, joining the emperor's side. 'We can rebuild-

'You shut your mouth!', shouted the mother. 'You brought them here! All this is happening because of you!'.

If Vocem held any semblance of guilt or remorse for his actions he did an amazing job at hiding them, but Iris' outburst had certainly silenced him entirely. Typicus merely chuckled as he raised his hand to give the signal. 'Iris my dear, I only need the child. I'll still sleep if I add one casualty to my task', he said.

However before the emperor could give the order, something extraordinary happened.

In but a few seconds, the air in the entire room became colder to the point where everyone's breath could be seen in a plume of white smoke. Even Aurora had to wrap her arms around her to keep warm while everyone else looked at their visible breaths.

Yet it all paled in comparison when suddenly, a wall of pure ice formed in front of the emperor and his group, completely blocking their fire. Typicus looked at this wall, seeing Iris through the ice looking just as confused and surprised as he.

'Iris!'.

The mother turned around to see Fulgur and Calli pushing open a secret door just on the right side of the steps that climbed up the throne. 'Hurry!', he said, gesturing the exit. Quickly, Iris grabbed Aurora and ran into the passage way, looking over her shoulder one last time to see the enraged emperor.

Inside, she turned to see Clavam and Forex by the steps that led further down while the boys closed the door behind Iris. 'Think that'll stop them?', Forex asked, her voice was high with fear. 'I dunno, do you think a bomb can break that wall?', Fulgur asked, looking at Calli.

' I-I dunno, I never made a wall that big before', panted the blond haired child.

Iris turned to the blond, eyes alit with surprise but then shifted into worry when she saw him shaking with obvious exertion and weariness. His skin was pale too and he was sweating up a storm. 'C-Calli, was that wall "your" doing?', she gasped. Calli weakly nodded, before he almost fell down but was saved from plummeting down to the ground by Fulgur.

'Can we worry about that later!? We gotta get to dad!', Clavam said, gesturing the passage way.

'Where does this lead?', Iris asked.

'I dunno! I've been following Fulgur!', replied her niece.

'Father said if we follow the instructions', he explained, showing Iris his phone with the notes his father had added to it. 'It will lead us outside the city and to a haven'.

Iris nodded, letting Aurora stand on her own two feet as she carried Calli, knowing the boy was not able for the task at hand, and they couldn't afford to slow down now. 'Let's go then', she ordered. The company ran down the stairs, Fulgur calling out which direction they were to take with each turn and corner, pathways and stairs. Being down here in these old paths reminded the mother of her childhood, all because she chased a cat.

Now here again with children, running for her life and protecting her own daughter.

Fate has a strange sense of humour.

But it can also be very cruel…

The ground shook as a low booming sound echoed in the distance with enough force to shake the party to fall. Unfortunately for Fulgur, his fall caused the phone to slip from his hand and bounce into a grate just a few steps before him, slipping into the darkness. Cursing, Fulgur scrambled to the grate but all he could see was darkness and the sounds of running water going into the lower depths of the waterway.

'Crap, the heck was that?', Clavam asked, getting to her feet and helping her sister.

Looking at the boy, he gave them a look of dismay, shame in his eyes. No phone meant no map, and no sure pathway to safety. Hope diminished from the group when they heard yelling and a clamour of metallic footsteps fast approaching them.

While Iris paced and tried to think of the old pathway she used years ago, her daughter turned to see down another path was that little boy again. The child gestured her to follow him urgently, blue eyes wide with fear for them. Now the child was well-aware and versed in never trusting strangers, child or adult, but there was an oddity to the boy Aurora couldn't help but feel a sense of trust for him.

'Mama, look!', she said, pointing at the boy.

Her mother followed her gaze but only caught the running child for a fraction of second. 'This way!', Aurora ordered, following the boy in a sprint. Followed closely by the sisters, Iris grunted before, with great hesitation, followed suit with Fulgur trailing closely behind them.

The mysterious boy led them from a great distance worryingly enough, as no matter how quick the princess ran she could never even get close enough to see his face entirely. It was like chasing a chocobo on foot, the boy seemed to know where he was going without slowing down. Apprehension filled both Iris and Fulgur though, the mother was literally playing a game of hide and seek with the empire in a maze like dungeon.

Over the course of the run, they found themselves standing before an odd door. The door was made of stone with old Lucian inscriptions and lines that all together formed the royal sigil of the line of Lucis. 'What is this?', Fulgur asked, never seeing nor hearing of such door from his father. Even Iris wasn't aware of this door, even though Gladio had gone into great detail about the castle years ago, and even recently just as a heads up for her.

But their thoughts were stopped when they turned to see Typicus, Vocem and the soldiers arriving and holding them all at gun point. The emperor was panting, seemingly exhausted from the chase they caused, but upon seeing the door, his breath steadied as a look of victory seemed to wash over his face.

'This is it', he said, eyes fixated on the door. He gestured two soldiers to keep their arms on the children, forcing the kids to back up against the wall in fear as Aurora ran to her mother. But the emperor grabbed her arm before she got too close and yanked her away from Iris. The child shrieked in fear but one harsh glare from the emperor silenced her. Iris felt her heart leap into her throat, a sense of terror she hadn't felt before took hold of her form as she watched helplessly her child being dragged to the door.

'Open it', he ordered.

Aurora looked at the door and then at the emperor before she slowly and timidly, pressed both palms against the door. The door's runes begun to glow into a blue light, much like Noctis' old magic and slowly the light filled up the lines until the sigil shined in brilliant radiance of light. Slowly the doors opened apart with several bits of rubble breaking apart from the ancient doors.

Typicus dragged Aurora and ordered his men to bring Iris along, forcing her to leave Calli with his friends as they watched the emperor take away their friends into the chamber. Inside with only a handful of guards, both Vocem and Typicus forced the princess forward before an old blackened stone that somehow levitated above the ground between two pedestals, above and below it. Typicus glared at the stone before turning to the princess.

'Do you know what this?', he asked.

She shook her head, too afraid to open her mouth.

He smiled in a manner that sent shivers down her little spine, he then gestured the stone. 'This is remnants of this country's crystal, an object with power that made Insomnia the sole land untouched by the graces of my father's empire', he explained.

Iris looked at the stone in disbelief, unable to see even a figment of the original pure blue crystal in such a decaying state. If what Ignis told her was right, then the crystal should have been no more after Noctis was absorbed by it all those years ago. In that sense how did it even get here if all that took place within the Niflheim capital?

'Of course it has long lost its potency, thanks to your father', he said. 'But, if it can perform miracles, like say create a child from two divine beings like your mother and father, then who's to say what other miracles it can perform, under its rightful master?', he asked no one in particular.

He turned to the child, eyes darkening as his smile became more sinister. 'But now that we have what we need…you're not needed anymore'. 'Would you like to meet your father?'.

'AURORA!'.

They all turned to see the magitek soldiers being severed and struck down by Cor and Ignis, arriving just in time. Typicus turned on the spectacled man, now standing before him with daggers in hand and eyes burning.

'Well now, arriving in the nick time as usual, Scientia', he sneered.

Ignis' gaze narrowed as he held his daggers closer, his usual stance when he was about to strike. Typicus smirked as Cor dealt with the remaining soldiers after he knocked Vocem out cold. Eyes fixed on the emperor once he saw his friend dealing with the forces, Ignis stared down at him. 'You will leave Insomnia, either alive or as a corpse, it's your choice', Ignis said darkly.

'Oh? Whoever said I was leaving?', he asked. 'I intend to finish what my father started and have all of Eos be under the banner of the Niflheim empire'.

The emperor stretched out his arm and suddenly red crystal like shards formed and materialised into a sword. But not an imperial make, but Lucian made…

The Engine Blade, Noctis' sword.

'A remarkable weapon, though not to my taste but even I cannot disregard its quality', he mocked, eyeing the sword.

The very weapon his majesty used, a final gift from his father, a weapon that had saved their lives on so many occasions. The weapon of his brother, and here it was being sullied and carried by this traitorous scum.

Ignis snarled and attacked him.

Typicus duelled the right hand man of the former king, the engine blade was a heavy weapon yet in the emperor's hands it felt as if he was merely swinging a stick in terms of weight. Ignis slashed and swung his daggers in such a precise and calculated arcs that the emperor himself was amazed by how he was backing him into a corner.

Once caught in a deadlock, the emperor retracted a revolver from his suit jacket and aimed at the advisor. But years of sparring with Prompto had taught Ignis the ins and outs of a revolver, but more importantly how to deal with such. He tossed one dagger at the emperor, forcing him to dodge the blade. With his aim off, Ignis took this chance to deliver a kick to the emperor's stomach, knocking him backwards.

He fell and the sword flew out of his hand, flying across the ground and right before Aurora's feet. Ignis approached the emperor but to his annoyance he got back up and attacked him again, this time with a knife hidden within his sleeve. He managed to cut Ignis' arm with the surprise attack, forcing him to take a step back from the wild swings of the emperor.

As the fight continued, Aurora kept stepping back away from the fight, unaware as a magitek soldier, though severed in half but still functioning with what little it had, raised a gun at the princess. Iris' eyes caught the soldier as it steadied its arm…

BANG!

The entire antechamber fell into silence as the echoing of the gun ceased, all eyes fell to the source of the sound. The soldier was then decapitated by Cor in a fit of rage, but it was too late. His eyes fell to the direction of the shot…

Aurora was frozen on the spot, unmoving as her eyes widened. In her mother's embrace, slowly weakening as she begun to slump on her daughter's small form. 'M-Mama…', she whispered.

'I-I'm so sorry…Aurora…', gasped Iris.

Slowly, the Amicitia woman, Aurora's mother, fell to the side with a quiet thud. On her back, a red pool of blood begun to spread. Aurora staggered backwards, eyes never leaving her mother's form as her hands shook, skin ashen.

Typicus took this chance to finally deal with Ignis, as he turned and elbowed the horrified man in the jaw line and kicked him aside. With him out of the way, he aimed his revolver at the child, full intent on finishing what his machine had started.

The gun fired straight for the girl, but it never reached her.

A crystal barrier suddenly formed around the child and crystal, like shield. Aurora shook and fell to her knees, before she let out a cry of pure anguish. Her cries rang so loudly, the stone begun to crack and break apart, rays of brilliant light begun to pierce the stone cocoon until in a flash of light, destroyed its shell.

The crystal of Insomnia had been restored, and then, the entire room was bathed in a blinding light…

*?*

In this embrace again, this sense of safety and serenity that should put her soul at peace, felt like a thin veil of illusions.

She couldn't stop crying, breathing laboured and she coughed a few times in doing so, clutching onto this support for dear life.

'Oh Aurora…my dearest', the voice said in such a soft manner yet Aurora could hear the pain and loss within it this softness.

Aurora looked up to see Lunafreya once again, this time her own eyes were gleaming with loss and grief. Everything hurts, she mused, her heart felt like it was taken out of her, stomped into dust and then shoved back into her again.

'Mama…mama's…', she whimpered but couldn't bring herself to finish, instead she bawled into Lunafreya's stomach. A wave of sadness she never felt before, like a tidal wave crushing her and never letting up. Her mother's eyes dimming as the life was taken away from her, those beautiful amber eyes she'll never get to see again, to see the light up whenever she saw her daughter playing or smiling.

'I'm so sorry my dearest, Iris was…is such a wonderful person', she lamented, brushing her hair with her delicate fingers. Aurora sobbed and sobbed, unable to stop. 'Child, look at me, please', Lunafreya said, pleading.

Taking a deep breath, the princess slowly raised her eyes to her…mother's. Gently she placed a hand on her cheek. 'I'm so sorry. I'm sorry we kept so much from you', she said. Aurora wanted to be angry, this woman was her true mother, she was lied to all these years and now she lost Iris…yet she couldn't bring herself to be angry. Not even resentful, she felt a wave of guilt radiating from Lunafreya, a pain that felt like it was scarring her heart over and over again.

'Why?', she asked.

'Your father and I…we were doomed from the start to save our world from the darkness…it was only because of him, we were able to conceive you, to give you life', she explained. 'It tore my heart apart, watching you grow up but never being able to be there, teach you, protect you…loving you'.

No lies, only the purest truth she could feel in her words. 'Your father wanted to meet you for so long, but he cannot right now', she resumed. Aurora laid her head upon her shoulders, letting this woman, her mother, comfort and bring her safety. 'I know this pain is horrible, and it will not heal quickly, but do not let it control you, my dearest', she said.

Slowly the embrace broke as Lunafreya formed a small orb of light, gently placing it into her daughter's hands. 'Close your eyes, and feel', she explained.

Slowly with uncertainty, Aurora followed her mother's instructions. A warmth spread across her body, like a burning sun exploding from within. A joy that words could not describe, a light that only existed in fairy tales, a love that only a mother could replicate.

Aurora sees the past through the eyes of Iris, watching herself grow and play, from the day she spoke her first word, to her first steps, to the day she called Iris "mother". The happiness she gained from it, the love she created, it was…magical.

When the sensation ended, she was in Iris' embrace once more. 'I'm sorry Aura', Iris whispered.

'Don't go mama…don't leave me', she pleaded, voice shaking.

Gently cupping her chin to face her, Iris gave her a smile. 'I'm always with you, and you will never be alone. I promise', she said.

Slowly the embrace broke as Iris begun to fade into the light as Aurora floated away, her smile would be the last thing she would ever see from Iris.

Tears ran down her cheeks but soon she felt the embrace of someone new. She didn't care who it was, she needed someone, anyone to be there with her.

'Hi kiddo', the man said.

Aurora never heard this voice before, but it held no terror for her. It was gentle yet protective, old and wise. The embrace was something that reminded her of uncle Gladio, but not as big or firm. Instead it felt like she was somewhere safe, that nothing in the world could harm her. Gently strokes of her hair with confidence and fondness, soft but strong hands.

'I'm going home soon, right?', she asked sleepily.

'Yeah, your family's waiting for you. Let me just, take care of the bad man, ok?', he said.

He sounded so familiar to her, like a long lost friend she hadn't seen in years but it felt closer than a friend. Like family.

'Ok…', she yawned.

*Antechamber*

The light diminished and the crystal was no more. Aurora was laying on the pedestal, clutching something in her little hands as she curled into a ball.

The emperor turned on her once his sights was restored, eyes boring into her. The crystal was gone, there was nothing left in this place…but a potential threat to his rule.

'SHOOT HER! I WANT THIS BRAT TO BE THE LAST OF LUCIS BLOOD LINE!', he roared. His soldiers took aim as Cor still fought of what remained of the axe wielding soldiers, unable to get close enough to stop them.

Typicus had Ignis at gunpoint also, stopping even him from protecting his niece. The bullets soared but the barrier from before appeared, this time in the form of crystalized weapons. Behind the crystalized weapons, appeared a ghostly apparition of the Chosen King.

Noctis faced down the emperor with contempt and hate, slowly raising his hand and with that, the weapons flew up. 'You will not lay one hand on my daughter', announced his majesty. With a cry, Noctis flung his hand forward, the weapons flew in dazzling speed they seemed invisible to the naked eyes, piercing and demolishing the magitek soldiers until they were nothing more than scrap metal. He turned to the emperor, eyes alit with horror as Noctis approached him. Typicus fired at the king but his bullets simply went through him, harming nothing.

Noctis stood before him, then smirked. 'Like father like son, failure to the end', he taunted. Typicus sneered at him. 'Without the crystal or your magic, your brat is nothing BUT a child!', he reminded. Noctis nodded, but then slowly raised his ghostly hand, and like that, his former weapon begun to levitate in the air. Spinning until it turned into a crystal like form, and like Aurora's father before her, the weapon flew into the child's sleeping form without harming her.

It bonded with her just like it did with him all those years ago. 'By the power of Lucis, I named Aurora Lucis Caelum my successor and rightful heir to the Throne of Insomnia', he announced. 'I leave my will and power to her'.

A brilliant light shined from his grace, flying towards his daughter and enveloping her in a bright blue barrier of crystals, forming around her heart. Once the task was done, Noctis lowered his hand and faced his advisor once more.

'Noct…', Ignis said dumb founded.

He gave his brother one last smile, before he slowly faded out. 'Thanks, Iggy'.

With the king no more, Typicus turned on the girl, with one bullet remaining and took aim.

And paid the price.

Suddenly, his gun hand flew up in the air, just cutting above the elbow with the gun in hand. Typicus bellowed in agony as he clutched his stump of an arm, falling backwards. He looked at Cor but the man was on his knees in exhaustion, sword sheathed. Slowly, he looked in front of him to see a woman.

Wearing a set of blue and white robes similar to the robes the Kingsglaive wore with no motifs or anything relating to the glaives, she is tall woman just an inch below Ignis, hair dark blue like the crystal with eyes shining like sapphire. In her hand was a long katana that was made of crystal, bright blue brilliance and see through, the hilt was shaped like a skull with crossbones.

She glared down at the disgraced emperor before she sheathed her blade. 'Leave this land, and never return', she ordered. Typicus scrambled to his feet, and with a cry of rage, ran out of the antechamber. The blue haired woman turned to Aurora, approached the child and gently carried her in her arms. Ignis looked at her, picking up his weapons as she joined him.

Her eyes lost the steel she had for the emperor, they were softer and more gentle, as she looked down at the sleeping child. 'The light of the King and Oracle has passed onto her now', she announced. 'The power of Kings has been reawakened and the forgotten magics will return'.

'Who…are you?', asked the father.

'I am…Ante…that is the name he gave me', she explained slowly.

Ignis looked ready to ask more questions but they died on his lips when he looked at the child's clutching hands. Worried, he carefully opened her hand up…

And found the Ring of Lucill.

A/N:

…Soo this was a LONG ONE.

So I apologize for delay, but as you can see a LOT of time went into this one.

Now then, where does this tale go from here? You'll see in time.

Thanks to everyone whose still sticking by this story, you all really help make this work. Thanks for reading, and as always, stay awesome but more importantly stay safe!


	7. Chapter 7

Final Fantasy XV-2

Dawn

Chapter 6

Misery Loves Company

Insomnia has a history of dark times befallen the majestic kingdom, and today was as bleak as it could possibly be.

The smoke rising from the destruction of parts of the Citadel like snakes slithering into the sky, blackened clouds bleed rain from above and bathed the city in water. Much of the reconstruction was ruined and the once near completed buildings have returned to nothing but rubble like before.

Yet the destruction of the buildings, the looks of war upon the growing city, paled to the tragedy that befall the palace once again.

Ignis would never say it to his brothers, Astrals he's never confined in Noctis, that was partially relieved to not have been inside the Citadel when it was attacked all those years ago. He knew he couldn't withstand seeing the death and destruction of his home, or worse, seeing his uncle perish in the attack. Today though, he had to bear witness to a tragedy that tore him apart.

Seeing Iris being shot…her life being snatched away because of a daemon of an emperor's lust for power, and him being there unable to prevent another tragedy in his own home.

He could feel his blood turn ice when he saw the children's reactions, tears running down their eyes and horror etched on their faces like a horrible picture that he could never burn from his memories, a forever reminder of his failure.

Gladiolus…by the blood of the Astrals Ignis had never felt so useless…

The man came in after fighting what remained of the soldiers, the proud and unshakable shield of the Chosen King, brought to his knees in despair and horror when he saw his sister's lifeless form in a pool of her own blood. It was like watching a statue break apart with each step until he collapsed onto his knees, and holding his sister in his arms, he let out a ghastly cry of anguish that rang in the chamberlain's ears like a horrible song.

To see his brother in such agony, a pain he caused to his heart to pieces. And he had none to blame but himself.

He stood outside one of the royal family chambers, inside the princess was still sleeping with woman known as "Ante", the blue haired swordswoman. So far only himself and her were keeping watch on the sleeping child, the older man had all but refused anyone else to take this position.

After the planted spies and traitors that almost got Aurora killed among their children, he told Cor to background search each member of the slowly rebuilding Crownsguard and if found guilty of suspicion, they'd be arrested. Only he and Gladiolus were to take this position, though he hadn't seen the warrior since Iris was relocated to the medical wing.

Prompto, unfortunately, was in no condition to guard for a very long time, or even ever again. After finding him Prompto was taken to the medical wing for surgery, and from what the doctors told the chamberlain, the result wasn't looking promising for the photographer.

His phone then vibrated, jolting him out of his pondering. Plucking the device from his breast pocket, he checked to see a text from Cindy, apparently having trouble getting into the Citadel thanks to the guard. Lack of proper identification papers apparently.

He texted back instantly, telling her to inform the guards Scientia has given her permission to visit her husband and son, and further troubles can be directed at him.

Lowering his phone down, Ignis stood still in the lonely hall, unable to move or even stand up properly, leaning against the door. His eyes stung from the unshed tears, tears from his guilt and own sorrows. Iris' blood was on his hands, he was the one who dragged Iris and her daughter into all this, all because he felt it was his duty to help the legacy of the Lucis. Where all he did was bring tragedy to his niece and now, he took her mother.

He failed Noctis…again.

His musings were broken when he heard heavy footsteps approaching, yet his eyes were fixed on the ground. It wasn't as if he needed to look to identify the approaching stranger, he's well accustomed to the sound of those heavy footsteps.

Slowly though, he lowered his phone and turned his weary gaze to Gladiolus, the man just approaching him. Once there would be a casual greeting or a playful jest of the state Ignis would be in, but no, not this time. Instead there was a silence that was thick and almost choking the two brothers, each showing an emotion they shared.

Sorrow.

Gladiolus' uniform was all but ruined now, the upper clothing replaced by a simple large t-shirt that looked too tight for him, his Kingsglaive pants torn here and there but usable none the less, marks of battle were clear on his arms and even on his right cheek, leaving a scar. His eyes were dim, almost too dark to even see the colour of the iris. He gave Ignis a blank look, as if he was meeting him for the first time.

Ignis didn't want to imagine how he looked, he could only imagine he looked less than ideal now. '…how long have you been standing here?', Gladiolus asked, noticing how exhausted he looked.

'I…don't know', Ignis admitted. 'I haven't taken much notice of the time'.

Ignis was certain it might've been quite sometime since he even took a step out of this stance he was currently in, where he originally stood by the door now, he was slouched against it like some punk in the streets. He hadn't budged from this place since he and Ante had re-located the princess into this brief sanctuary, once he was done instructing every, though limited, able-body man and woman on their tasks and making sure the children were taken somewhere safe.

'Well if you want my opinion, and I know you didn't ask, but I think you need a break', he offered.

'I'm fine, Gladio', insisted the chamberlain.

Gladiolus approached him, towering over him. Ignis had expected to see resentment and anger in his brother's eyes, he was honestly lost for words when he saw neither in those brown eyes. Instead he sees sympathy. Gladiolus placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and gripped it.

'I think Prompto's gonna wake up sooner than we think. May do him and his family good if you pay them a visit', offered the shield.

Ignis opened his mouth to protest but in the end all he did was sigh and looked aside. 'I…cannot Gladio', he confessed.

'Why the hell not? The medical wing isn't that far, and hey, maybe a change of scenery would do you wonders', Gladiolus said.

Ignis should have felt a smidgen better, or hell, even relived, that Gladiolus was even speaking to him again and not giving him the silent treatment. It was better than them treading around each other like eggshells on the floor.

So why did he feel so…angry? Why was Gladiolus, acting, like things are fine between them?

'Gladio…what is going on?', he asked, barely restraining the anger in his tone.

The shield raised a brow at him, his look turning sterner at the tone. 'What?', he asked. 'Iggy-

'What the bloody hell is wrong with you!?', Ignis shouted, slapping his hand off his shoulder. He started to pace in place, then running a hand through his hair, he turned on him. '"A change of scenery will do you wonders"!? Why are you talking as if nothing happened!? Why aren't you furious with me!?'.

Gladiolus raised a hand at him but before he could even get a syllable in this, Ignis continued. 'Why aren't you angry? I got your sister killed! I put everyone in danger, your daughters! Why are you…why are you…', he said, but his anger dimmed as his shoulders slumped.

'Why aren't I kicking your ass? Why am I not tearing you a new one?', Gladiolus asked, his own voice gruffer and tinged with anger. 'What good is that gonna do for me, or you or hell ANYONE now? Look, I'm angry, that you aren't wrong in, and yeah, I want to punch you'.

He grabbed Ignis by the shoulders and shook him. 'But kicking your ass isn't gonna bring Iris back now is it!?', he growled. 'And ripping into you isn't gonna change how shitty this situation got for not just Insomnia but for our families!'. 'You think I'm not trying to fall apart here? You think I'm acting like because I'm over it, well news flash I'M NOT!'.

The two just stared at each other for a moment, pain flashing across their eyes like a storm raging within them. Loss, grief and anger clashing like a tsunami and storm at war with each other. Gladiolus' own dimmed. 'You think you're the only who screwed up, you think all the blame should be laid at your feet, but you're goddamn wrong! Stop acting like it's all YOUR fault!'.

He shoved Ignis into the door with light slam, the man slipping down until he sat against the door, defeated. He didn't even look up anymore, just looking into space as Gladiolus fell against the wall, head raised up to look at the ceiling as he panted. '…I'm not the only one who lost Iris…and you're not the only one who's thinking "I should have done more"'.

Ignis placed both hands against his forehead, letting out a breath. 'I know you had every great intention Iggy, and truth be told, I believed in thinking it was time for us to bury the hatchet with the Nifs', Gladiolus confessed. 'Heh, guess we didn't learn anything from our history books, huh?'.

Ignis let out a humourless chuckle, plucking his glasses off from his eyes and rubbing the bridge between them. 'Gladio, I'm so sorry', he apologized. 'Iggy…', Gladiolus stressed but he gave no further resistance. 'I'm so sorry for everything…for you, Iris, your family', he listed, but he felt his throat tighten up, tears threatening to escape him.

'I know Ig, I know', the shield said, sombrely. 'But right now, we've a princess whose gonna need us, more than ever'. Gladiolus pushed himself off the wall and offered him a hand up. 'And I think, we need each other too', he said.

Ignis slowly took his hand and allowed the stronger man to pull him back to his feet. Adjusting his glasses, the man let out a heavy sigh. 'Go on ahead and see Prom, I'll take over the watch', Gladiolus offered. Despite his instance almost taking over, Ignis relented when he finally took notice just how exhausted he felt and needed a change of pace. With a solemn nod, Ignis turned down the corridor and proceeded down the stairs.

(Lower Levels)

The medical wing was located just below the throne room, a must by his majesty King Regis after Noctis' return from Tenebrae all those years ago, just in case.

But Ignis was making his way to the foyer, he received another text from Cindy that some of the guards were denying her entry. Instead of just texting them to let her pass, he ultimately decided it'd be best if he was there to assure them, she was a guest, and more importantly, the wife of a Kingsglaive.

The foyer was bustling with all members of the Crownsguard, the ones Cor hand picked himself since they reformed, and not under suspicion. He could see Cindy speaking to one of the guards, though from the way she looked it appeared she was close to pulling out a wrench and beating the guards. Although as humorous as that would, Ignis had a worrisome feeling she'd be tried with murder later.

Currently she was wearing a red shirt with Prompto's old black vest and a pair of denim jeans that looked old judging from the faded patches of colour around her thighs, her cap forgotten and her hair wild and tangled as if she suffered through a wind storm. It may be possible she just grabbed the closet set of clothes

'Misses Argentum', he announced, approaching them.

The trio turned their eyes on the man, the two guards immediately standing up right and giving him salutes. Cindy however gave him a look of relief, like a costumer finally seeing the manager at long last. Ignis gave them a nod and gestured Cindy to pass, which she did no second later after he gestured.

'Where is Prompto and Vitae? Are they safe? What happened?', she asked, her eyes were bright with fear and worry, that relief vanished instantly her mouth opened. 'Prompto is currently in the medical wing, Vitae is, as far as I am aware, with him since he was put there', Ignis explained. 'I was on my way over until I received your text'.

'Then led on!', Cindy said, though it sounded more like a demand by her tone.

Ignis couldn't hold it against her though, he'd be no different, but probably worse, if Fulgur was in the same predicament as his friends. The walk there was silent, but tense. Ignis would occasionally subtly look at Cindy to gauge her. He found her eyes fixated on the path before them, her shoulders tense like she was ready for the worst.

He felt the need to say something, to apologize for what he put her family through, and for what his choice did to her husband. Opening his mouth, suddenly she turned on him. 'If I hear the word "sorry" from your mouth mister, I'll show ya how painful a wrench to your skull will be', she said quickly. Ignis slowly closed his lips, he didn't need a demonstration of her ferocity, Prompto assured him there was a good reason she shouldn't join the Kingsglaive.

She'd be far too dangerous to make an enemy out of.

Her olive-green eyes held a fire in them, but strangely he wasn't feeling a sense of threat from her, as if she is directing the fires to something else. Her gaze softened, and she looked away. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at ya like that', she sighed.

'You have every right to…', Ignis admitted, softly.

'Do I? Last time I checked you ain't the one who put my husband in the hospital, or the one who did all this', she argued.

Cindy walked a few steps from him, wrapping an arm around herself as if she suddenly felt cold. They just stood in the hallway that led to the medical wing, silence looming over the two. '…I was terrified when Prompto stayed around Hammerhead…', she confessed.

Ignis raised a brow at this confession, shocked at the admittance. 'I knew he pined for me, and heck, I was flattered, but when it came to his feelings, I just, hoped he would give up'. 'But nope, he kept going until I eventually gave and tried dating him'.

Ignis could feel his heart strings being tugged roughly, feeling a sense of incomprehensible dread as Cindy kept talking. 'At first, I thought after one date, he'd give up and move to a more deserving gal, ya know? But…joke was on me, I fell for the man', she giggled sadly.

Cindy rubbed her arm, eyes down cast. 'Then, I got pregnant, and he then asked me to marry him', she said. 'And Vitae was born, I knew somehow, things were gonna be different'.

'I lost my parents when I was a kid, thanks to daemons. So, when I saw Prompto holding Vitae when he was just a babe, that smile on his face, the way Vitae giggled at him…'.

Cindy turned to Ignis with a watery smile. 'I thought back to how Paw-Paw raised me, and how I had only him as family, you know? Suddenly now I had a husband, a baby and a family of my own. I didn't feel so alone anymore'.

Ignis felt his own eyes grow moist, a pain he inflicted on Cindy's family, and this confession. 'I can't lose them Iggy…I just can't lose my family again', she pleaded, her voice barely holding together as tears ran down her cheeks like rain. Ignis gently swept her into a comforting hug, holding his own tears back for her. She didn't need his tears, she needed someone to assure her that Prompto and their son were safe, that they would live to see another day together.

Cindy gently sobbed into his shoulder, her body wrecked with sobs.

*Medical Wing*

The wing was filled with doctors and nurses running around the sterilized room, monitors beeping in gentle harmony while voices overlapping each other. Cindy and Ignis stood at the entrance of the wing, both searching for a doctor to speak with for Prompto.

'Where would they keep him?', Cindy asked.

'We'd normally have a section for the glaives, but I can't say I know if its in affect', Ignis admitted.

'Mom, uncle!'.

The two turned to see Vitae sticking his blond messy head out and waving at them madly, likely attempting to get their attention. It worked.

The two approached him as they pushed by the other doctors and pushed the curtains aside to see Prompto. The father was currently still sedated it seemed, judging from his sleeping form. His left arm connected to the IV to keep him hydrated likely, while his left leg was in a cast, held up with wires. Ignis wasn't entirely certain how bad the damages were to him, but from what he was able to deduce, it was bad enough for them to use at least four potions on his arms.

His leg…was another story.

'Vitae', Cindy gasped, immediately enveloping her son in a tight hug, the boy nestled into her for comfort. 'Are you alright sweet heart?', she asked.

'I'm…I'm fine, mom', he said, but his voice was shaky and tainted with fear. Ignis isn't surprised, his eyes were fixated on Prompto and his form.

'Excuse me, are you misses Argentum?', a doctor inquired, pushing the curtain back slightly. They turned on the doctor, who was carrying a notepad and judging from his tired eyes, he has been burning the midnight oil. 'Yes, I am', she said, standing to face him with Vitae holding her leg.

The doctor cleared his throat and with a nod from Ignis, ran his report. 'Your husband has lost a substantial amount of blood ma'am, along with several broken ribs, a fractured hip and a light concussion to the head', he listed. 'But he will recover from those in time, we're keeping him sedated while we use what healing potions, feeding him them through the IV'.

Relief shined on both mother and son, but Ignis looked at the leg. 'And his leg? How bad is it?', he inquired. At this, the doctor's face fell as he gave the wife and son a look of genuine sympathy. 'I'm afraid, the bone was decimated in the knee, we've tried using several hi-level potions but all they seem to do was dull the pain', he explained.

'I'm afraid…that the wound is ire-repairable'.

The air became tense as Cindy's gaze fell to her husband's leg, Vitae turning pale and almost looking as if he was having trouble breathing. 'M-Mom…I don't feel so good', Vitae whimpered, looking like he was almost ready to bawl into tears. Cindy knelt and quickly wrapped him in her arms, holding him tightly while the son hiccupped and cried.

'I am so sorry for this, we've tried everything, but we can do nothing for his leg', the doctor said, but his words were muted by the child's sobs and the sadness in Cindy's heart. Ignis himself couldn't tear his eyes off Prompto, a new wave of nausea washed over him as his eyes were fixed on the leg.

'Please, if there is anything we can do, do not hesitate to call us', he said, bowing before he departed. Ignis nodded as he left, turning to the Argentums. 'Cindy, I…', he tried, but all he could do was offer nothing they needed, no words can fix what had transpired. 'Iggy, I-I, I can't leave him', Cindy said.

'Of course not', he said affirmed. 'I'll have some of the staff prepare a room for you two and him'. 'Thank you', she gasped.

Leaving the family and once he spoken to with the head doctor, informing him of his phone number if any issue came up, Ignis then set his goal to see his son.

*Chancellor Office*

With most of the rooms still in need of refurbishing and repairs, Ignis had the children and parents excluding Cindy moved to his own office until they could find a more suitable room. Either way, the room was guarded by two of the last trust worthy guards, armed with swords and hand guns just in case of an enemy attack or worse.

Entering the room once he gave the guards a salute, the spectacled man was welcomed with silence oddly. Inside, he sees the children had fallen asleep on his couch, probably exhausted physically and emotionally from today's tragedy. On a chair watching over them was Yuria. Wearing a light grey jacket and a pair of denim jeans, her hair long and hazel coloured was tied into an elegant tail while her amber eyes were fixed on the children.

She turned to Ignis, a soft but saddened smile graced her lips. 'They've been sleeping since they claimed the couch', she revealed, speaking softly to avoid disturbing them. Ignis nodded, understanding. His eyes fell to Calli though, worry etched in his mind. The reports he got from the guards about his magic and even the boy's shaky confession had him borderline concerned. The ice wall he magically constructed was still up in the throne room, barely melted let alone shrunken.

'Coctura?', he inquired.

'She's…still answering Cor's questions', Yuria sighed. 'Its been only half an hour now, yet it feels like four hours since'.

The moment the boy's magic was revealed the Immortal had been adamant in learning more of his heritage and how he managed to use such a forgotten ability. Ignis himself may be able to use the three elements on his own but that was mostly thanks to his connection to Noctis' abilities, and even then, it was fairly limited compared to the Lucis.

Calli's magic though wasn't linked to the crystal or Aurora, and yet he managed to create a wall of ice in such density and height at such a young age. It certainly warranted concern absolutely, but Ignis wasn't concerned yet. He pulled himself a chair of his own, and placed himself on it, allowing himself to let out a sigh.

'How are you holding up?', Yuria asked, looking over him and grimacing at how exhausted he looked.

'I…have seen better days', he said, being generous.

'Same as Gladio', she giggled softly.

Ignis looked up at her, seeing the Amicitia gently twist and turn her wedding ring, eyes show casing worry. Ignis faintly remembers the day his brother proposed to her, but he always recalls the hours he spent ring searching and making. He did at least fourteen high ranking hunts just to find materials and obtain the funding for the accessory, just to make the perfect wedding ring for the perfect woman.

Ignis had never seen him so nervous, even in their roughest battles the man would wear the face of a true warrior and charge headfirst into danger, yet he squirmed and sweated over asking a woman he had been with for two years to give her hand in marriage.

'He was with the doctors for all of twenty minutes before he got back to work', she mused, smiling. 'No matter how bad he gets, he'd still get up and do his duty'.

'I saw him, he took up guarding Aurora for me', Ignis admitted.

'Hmm, least he's taking a small break', she hummed.

Slowly her eyes fell to her daughters, Forex snuggled into her sister's arms, the latter holding her close and protectively. Slowly she rose up from her seat and approached her treasures. Gently, she brushed her hand across their heads, tickling their scalps yet earning comforted sighs. A mother's touch Ignis presumed, a trait he never could imitate no matter how many years he spent guiding/raising Noctis.

Yet seeing this act of unconditional kindness only sunk his heart when he looked at his son. As if sensing his pain, Yuria gently patted Fulgur as he slept. He stirred softly before eventually he relaxed at the alien touch.

'You know what happened isn't your fault, yes?', she asked, turning to him. Ignis felt his urge to roll his eyes and scoff, almost like he was speaking to Gladiolus again. 'I'm not referring to what happened today, though it should go without saying you are blameless in this situation'.

He looked at her in question, the subject lost to him.

She simply gestured his son with a sympathetic look in her eyes. 'You are doing the best you can on your own with him', she assured.

Ah, so that was her concern.

Ignis is confident in himself, in many aspects of what he does and what he can do. Though he may have some days, he can safely say to himself he did a good job raising his son. Yet he couldn't help but feel he doesn't do enough for him, namely provide the comfort a mother could. Fulgur wasn't neglected, he'd sooner leave Insomnia all-together then even leave him alone, but he knows the boy often goes to an empty home most days as of late.

'She was the one who left him with you', she continued.

'I know, and I haven't forgotten do not worry. But…', he tried but his words failed him.

'Have you even heard from her?'.

'No, and I dare say I may never again'.

Ignis got up and joined her and looked at his son, slowly ruffling his messy hair. This time he let out a soft sigh and moved his head closer to his father's hand, senses well familiar with the gentle touch of his father. Ignis smiled softly, his heart at ease and worries slowly descended back into darkness for now.

Suddenly, Yuria retracted her hands from her children. 'Gladiolus and I are moving to Insomnia', she announced. Ignis turned to her, surprised. She gave him a friendly look. 'You probably have heard from him, but those two', she said, nodding to her children, 'were adamant they join the Crownsguard after what happened to Aurora'.

While the chamberlain knew Gladiolus told the kids about Aurora's heritage, he wasn't aware THEY were aiming to follow in his footsteps, but a part of him knew they were determined as their father and were likely as stubborn as their mother. 'And, how do you feel about that?', he asked carefully.

Yuria gave him a worried sigh as she rang a hand through her hair, pushing back some loose locks behind her ear. 'If I am honest…I wished they were scared off from it after today…', she commented. 'And I know Gladio would agree with me, but I also know those two, adore Aurora'.

'After today, that child has almost no one', she lamented. 'So, in a way, they want to stay with her', she said. Ignis could see himself in her spot, and no matter how proud he is that his son will stay by Aurora, the instinctual fear still clashed with it. He wondered if this is how his uncle felt when he joined the guard or did even Gladiolus' father feel the same worry for his son. Yuria gently kissed her kids' heads and sighed.

'No matter how I feel, this is what their dead set on', she confessed. 'But Gladio had better make sure they are ready, or he'll rue the day my babies got hurt'.

Ignis knew from past experiences when Yuria makes a promise, she will deliver on it. And moments like this make him wonder if Gladiolus was supposed to be their mentor…or is he going to mentor his kids out of mercy for them…

*Aurora's Room*

Still sleeping, almost a day now.

Ante kept her crystal blue eyes on the child of light, unmoving from her seat since she assigned herself to guard duty. The sun had slowly begun to descend below the city buildings, the golden rays dimming ever so slowly as the city enters the lunar's light.

Ante tilted her head softly when watching the princess, her tiny breathing was soothing to her yet at the same time she felt an unexplainable sensation in her chest. It felt as if something was constricted in it, it made her clench her hands on her knees tightly at times, and this odd urge to touch the child's head.

These sensations bothered her yet at the same time they fascinated her to no end. Do most people feel theses urges when guarding a person sleeping? Is it right to feel these? The King never mentioned these to her.

Looking at her hand, she decided to experiment with this feeling, pushing the doubts aside for a moment of curiosity, she gently brushed the fallen bang of blond hair aside the child's face. No reaction to this touch, the strand was brushed aside. She noticed however, a slight slow breathing reclining to a slower but relaxed pace.

Retracting her hand, she folded her hands on her lap. The door opened behind her, but she refused to move her head as her ears picked up the heavy footsteps of the Shield. He joined her side, arms folded yet his stance was at full alert.

'No change?', he asked.

'No. She remains still', she spoke, slow and soft.

The Shield's eyes fell on her she felt, not of distrust from his gaze but question. She understood his concern, she was an oddity to them all, a stranger that knows the child of light and protects her. 'So, who are you?', he asked.

'Ante', she said, though her memories told her she revealed this to them hours ago.

'I meant where did you come from? And how do you know Aurora?', the Shield argued.

'I was asked by the Chosen King to watch and protect the child of light', she said simply.

His stance became tense, annoyance radiates from him she feels. Why was he asking these questions so needlessly? She was sent to protect her, what more did they need to know?

'Noctis asked you? How? And how does a crystal become a human out of the blue…no pun intended', he said, his shifting.

She turned to him with a raised brow. 'Pun?', she asked.

The Shield awkwardly scratched his neck, bashfully. 'Because your hair is blue? "out of the blue"? Ya know?'.

Ante blinked, confusion was evident in her eyes as the words he speaks make sense yet it still felt like a language she had yet to understand. 'Look, back to subject. Are you the crystal?', he asked.

'Yes. I am the Crystal of Insomnia', she answered.

'But, you've a human body now', he pointed out.

Ante gently placed a hand on her heart, his words speak clarity now. '…yes', she confessed. 'Blessed by the King of Light, when his child's blood reawakened the links between I and the Line of Lucis', she explained.

The Shield turned to her, questions were still dancing around in his eyes she sees, questions she may not have the answers to. But before she could answer him, he simply turned his gaze back to the child. He then knelt to her level and brushed the back of his hand across her cheek, a change in breathing was seen by the crystal turned woman. It was more relaxed, and unless her eyes beguiled her, she noticed the princess subtly moving closer to the giant's hand.

'Don't worry kiddo, we're gonna be here as long as you need it', he promised. 'Just…don't sleep too much'. Slowly he got back to full height and exited the room, leaving Ante alone with the child.

That feeling in her chest felt even tighter… her eyes felt itchy…


End file.
